'H'F 






EALTH Y WANT 



LIBR 









RICA. 






The Healthy Infant, 



A TREATISE ON THE 



HEALTHY PROCREATION 



THE HUMAN RACE, 

EMBRACING THE OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING; THE MANAGEMENT OF THE 

PREGNANT FEMALE J THE MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY BORN ; 

THE MANAGEMENT OF THE INFANT; AND THE INFANT 

IN SICKNESS. 



By TANDY L. DIX, M. D. 



IP' 



Multum in f aruo. 



3X4* 



CINCINNATI: 

Peter G. Thomson, Publisher, 

1880. 






COPYRIGHT, 
1879. 
PETER G. THOMSON. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTORY.— Page i. 



PART I.— Page 5. 

Obligations to Offspring — Showing the Duties we owe to Posterity, 
growing out of the Violations of the Moral Law, and the results to the 
Child. — The causes of City Children being unhealthy, and the health- 
fulness of Country Children. — Why City Children fail to recover their 
health when taken to the Country. — Of Licentiousness. — Of Law 
and Order ; illustrated by the watch. — Of the Transmission of Pa- 
rental Characteristics. — Of Inorganic and Organic Matter, and Cell 
Structure. — Of the Formation of the Primordial Cell. — Of the Sper- 
matozoa. — Of the Organic and Animal Constructions of the Human 
Fabric. — The influence exerted by the Male and Female Parents 
upon the Offspring. — Of the Spiritual and Animal nature of Man ; 
illustrated by the ass and the horse. — The cause of Hereditary Dis- 
ease being more Transmissable from the Mother than from the Father. 
— The cause of Genius not descending from Father to Son. — Genius 
not a Factor in the Production of Genius. — Animal or Bodily Strength 
essential to the support and maintenance of a Great Mind. — The 
condition of the Mother that is essential to the production of a high 
order of Mind. — Reasons for cultivating the Organic rather than the 
Physical structure of the Female ; and for cultivating the Physical 
Powers of the Male rather than his Organic Structure. — Of the Spir- 
itual nature of Woman, and the Brutality of Man. — The Circum- 



11 CONTENTS. 

stances in which the highest Order of Minds most frequently appear. 
— The Growth of Beard, and other features which characterize the 
Male, are indicative of the blood pabulum for the production of the 
spermatozoa. — The effeminate features of the Female characterize the 
Blood Pabulum for the production of the Organic Body, the cell. — Of 
Female Education and Pursuits. — The Same of the Male. — Mixed 
Schools inimical to the Preparation of the Young for the part they 
are to perform in the Reproduction of the Race. — Of Early Mar- 
riage. 



PART II.— Page 28. 

Of the Foetus in Utero. — Necessity of Protecting the Interests of 
the Foetus. — Of the Relation which exists between the Mother and 
the Foetus. — Of the Blood ; its Conservative Power in maintaining a 
Healthy State. — Family Characteristics Transmitted through the 
Blood. — Hereditary Diseases.— s-Conditions of Matter, material and dy- 
namic. — The Effects of Fear ; illustrations of. — The Liability of the 
Foetus to the Effects of Dynamic Forces, which affect it through the 
Organism of the Mother : (a) Alarm, dynamic force ; (b) Normal 
changes in the Organism of the Mother ; (c) Abnormal changes in 
the Organism of the Mother. — Of Mothers' Marks — Of the Siege of 
Landau ; an interesting case, illustrating the effects of fright. — Of 
the Effects of Age. — The Importance of a Healthy State of both Pa- 
rents at the time of Conception, and of the Mother during the entire 
term of uterine gestation. — Association. — Mental and Physical Exer- 
cise. — The food and dress of the Pregnant Woman. 



PART III.— Page 58. 

Management of the Newly- Bom. — The manner in which the Newly- 
born is Treated, due to the State of Cultivation. — Of Birth. — In- 
stinctive Desires and Reflex Action of the Nervous System. — The 



CONTENTS. Ill 

Manner in which Christianized Society receives the Newly-born. — Of 
the Conditions most Compatible with its Organization. — Of the 
Senses. — Temperature. — The Care with which Animals and Birds pro- 
tect their Young from Cold. — Necessity of Warmth Illustrated by 
the Attention of the Florist to the Temperature of his ^Green- 
house." — Constitutions are to be Made. — The Conditions necessary to 
Breathing. — Deaths from Breathing Impure Air Arrested by the 
adoption of Dr. Clark's Suggestion to Ventilate the Buildings. — Of 
Inhalation, Exhalation, and the Circulation of the Blood. — Ablution 
of the Newly-born. — The Importance of the Mother nursing her own 
Babe. — The Manner in which the Infant should be put to the Breast. 
— Of Colostrum. — Of Colostration. — Food for the Young. — The Phys- 
iological Changes which transpire in the Mother during Uterine Ges- 
tation.— Of the Mecomium.— Of Yellow Milk ; White Milk.— Of 
Sleep. 



PART IV.— Page 80. 

Infancy.— .Of Infantile Organization The Discharge of Mucus.—. 

Of the Muscular System. — Of Handling and Carrying the Infant. — 
Of Airing the Infant, and danger of Exposure. — Dentition; tooth 
formation. The Age at which the Several Teeth Appear. — Of Cut- 
ting the Gums. — Of Food for the Infant. — Of the Mother's Breast. — 
The Greatest Danger to the Infant Arising from Improper Feeding. 
— Precautionary Measures to be Taken in Feeding the Infant. — Im- 
properly Prepared Food the Cause of the Death of Many Infants. — 
Liebig's Soup.— Carrot Pap. — Of Wet Nurses. — Of Clothing the In- 
fant. — Of Weaning. 



PART V.— Page no. 

The Infant in Sickness. — Selection and Preparation of the Sick 
Chamber. — Quietude. — Temperature. — Ventilation. — The Furniture, 



IV CONTENTS. 

Bedding and Medicines. — Sending for the Physician ; His Reception ; 
His Examination of the Patient. — Of the Company and Nurse. — Ad- 
vice to the Mother in regard to her Neighbors ; and to the Neigh- 
bors in regard to their Conduct toward the Sick. — How Visitors to 
the House of the Sick should be Received. — Of the Necessity of ad- 
hering strictly to the Directions of the Physician. — Administration of 
Medicines. — Of the Condition of the Eyes, Mouth and Nose. — Relief 
from the Suffering of Teething. — The Rescue of a Dying Infant by 
Cutting the Gums. Importance of Fresh Air to the Teething Infant. 
— The Importance of Early Detecting the illness of the Infant, and 
giving it Prompt Attention. 



COLIC— Page 131. 

The Complaint with which the Infant is Most Frequently 
Afflicted. — Derivation of the word " Colic." — The Several Varieties 
of Colic. — Neuralgic, or Nervous Colic : Treatment. — Spasmodic, or 
Incidental Colic : Treatment. — Bilious Colic : Treatment. — Flatu- 
lency, or Wind Colic : Treatment — Inflammatory Colic : Treatment. 
~-Colic Compounded of two or more of the Varieties : Treatment. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



In presenting a book to the public, the question naturally 
occurs : For what class or profession is the work designed ? 
This question is usually answered by the title of the book. 
A treatise on disease is for the medical profession; on law, 
for the legal profession; and another on divinity, for theolo- 
gians. Books are also written in the style, and with the tech- 
nicalities peculiar to the science upon which they are written ; 
and the reader is supposed to be so educated in that particu- 
lar science as to be able to comprehend the full force and 
meaning of the terms used in illustration of the subject or 
science. Now, who shall be the reader of "The Healthy 
Infant?" To this we answer: Every one who feels 

ANY INTEREST AT ALL IN THE PROPAGATION OF THE RACE. 

Therefore, this work is addressed to both sexes; to the pro- 
fessional and unprofessional ; and especially to the young — 



2 INTRODUCTION. 

for a healthy posterity will depend very much upon the de- 
gree of self-government which the latter exercise over their 
own actions, and also upon a knowledge of certain laws which 
pertain to reproduction, and which will enable them to secure 
to the offspring a freedom from many evils, which, with a reck- 
less disregard of this knowledge, will bring misery and wretch- 
edness to many succeeding generations. Hence, "The 
Healthy Infant " is written in plain and simple language, 
and free from all technicalities and obscurity of expression. 
The author would respectfully call the attention of the 
reader to that portion of Part I. which treats of Sex, and 
the influence exerted upon the offspring by the male and fe- 
male parents. He also hopes that he will not be considered 
as teaching the doct?i?ie of materialism. The union of spirit 
and matter is only one of the innumerable phenomena that 
are beyond the comprehension of man. Although this union is 
so close that we cannot discover the dividing line between 
matter and spirit, yet there is sufficient evidence adduced in 
the following pages to show that there is a soul or mind or 
spirit, which is capable of exercising an influence over mat- 
ter to such an extent as to cause the death of a local part- 
as was the case of the man with stone in the bladder ; and 
on the other hand, we know that the condition of mat- 
ter exercises a marked influence upon the soul or mind or 
spirit of the man; for when his liver is torpid, or the bow- 
els constipated, he has the — blues, which occasionally result in 
suicide. We further know that the soul or mind or spirit is 
especially associated with the vital organs, and not with the 
animal or mechanical construction of the fabric, as are the 
extremities; for these may be wanting, and yet "the soul 
liveth" Therefore, as the father supplies, mainly, the me- 



INTRODUCTION. 3 

chanical or animal construction to the offspring, and the 
mother the organic construction, the type of the former is 
discovered in the general make-up of the body, and the type 
of the latter in the talents and dispositions of the minds of 
the offspring. 

Those who are contemplating a change from a single to 
a married state, owe it to posterity, in selecting their com- 
panions, to keep the interests of posterity in view, rather 
than prostitute to their personal aggrandizement that sacred 
marital law which was handed from the portals of heaven di- 
rectly to man. This law marks the identity of families, com- 
munities, states, and Nations. It secures to the heir, his patri- 
mony ; to the prince, his crown. Yet, still more important, 
and in accordance with its design, is the propagation of the 
race. Therefore, those who enter into this relation incur the 
obligation of protecting every interest of posterity. 



THE 



Healthy Infant. 



PART I. 



ON PARENTAL OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING. 



In looking abroad upon the varied conditions of our 
race, we find in many of our fellow-beings evidences of 
mental and physical incapacity. We find many instances of 
those who perish from diseases, transmitted from generation 
to generation; and of those diseases we have sad re- 
minders in our midst, in the shape of Asylums, Almshouses, 
Institutes for Feeble-Minded, and Charity Hospitals. 
Notwithstanding the number who suffer from debility, and 
the lives sacrificed by hereditary disease, mankind seems 
not to be satisfied ; but each successive generation magni- 
fies the evils it inherited by adding its proportion of those 
which arise from human depravity. Against this depravity, 
civilized society protects itself by the criminal law, prison 
houses, and the gallows. In view of all this, the question 
naturally arises, Whence cometh all these evils ? And the 
usual response is : " From Eve, the prime mother of us all." 



6 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

Thus generation after generation has endeavored to shift 
the burden from its conscience, to the first child-bearer ; and 
so avoid responsibility for its own willful and egregious sins. 
When the tempter prevailed on her to eat the forbidden 
fruit, she did not stop to look down the current of human 
events and behold the untold evils she might be bestowing 
upon innocent posterity. She knew nothing of her progeny, 
and certainly little, if anything, of what she was entailing 
upon them. Her mind was entirely engaged in the pleas- 
antness of the fruit to her taste, and its boasted power of 
making herself and consort " as Gods, knowing good and 
evil." Now, the present generation enjoys this knowledge, 
combined with the experience of thousands of years as to 
the terrible results accruing to posterity from our own ac- 
tions ; yet many daughters of Eve blindly rush into mar- 
riage without a thought of the misery they may be prepar- 
ing for their posterity — oblivious of everything but their own 
selfish gratification; and thinking they are nobody's <k keep- 
ers" but their own. Thus the stream of human life, pol- 
luted by the fall at its source, increases in impurity as it 
flows on. It becomes more and more defiled by individual 
folly and crime; and its corrupted and poisonous qualities 
are seen in shortened human lives, in which more sin and 
misery are crowded than was found in the far longer earthly 
pilgrimages of the patriarchs. 

It is upon parents and guardians that the obligations rest 
of implanting those principles in the young, and endowing 
them with that extent of knowledge which will qualify them 
for thinking and acting intelligently, wisely, and purely in 
the matter of the propagation of the species, so that the 
stream of life shall become, comparatively at least, pure; 



OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING. 7 

human suffering be kept within due bounds, and the dura- 
tion of life be limited only by natural causes. By this 
means a high degree of perfection of character and conse- 
quent happiness will be secured to our race ; for the mitiga- 
tion of our bodily ailments upon which so large a share of 
that happiness depends, is only to be realized by the correc- 
tion of our mental and moral deficiencies. 

It is manifest that equally with the physical conforma- 
tion of the parents, their progeny also inherits their moral 
bias, mental deficiencies, and bodily ailments. Hence, pa- 
rents seem to continue their lives in their descendants. 
Like the Claudian family, which through many generations 
exhibited a continuous and even inflamed malignity of dis- 
position until it reached the utmost height of its revolting 
intensity in Nero, "the tyrant, the scourge of mankind, 
and the incendiary of Rome." Thus posterity carries with 
it the virtues and the vices, the health and diseases, of its 
ancestry. This is the source of the greater part of the evils 
which come under the observation of the moralist and of 
the physician, who are often charged with inefficiency in 
correcting moral bias and bodily ailments, notwithstanding 
the increased diffusion of knowledge, and the advancements 
in the medical sciences afford increased facilities for so do- 
ing. Thus being held, in some degree, responsible for the 
impurities of the stream of human life, it then becomes our 
bounden duty to learn as much as we can of the history of 
our ancestry, that we may cultivate our inherited virtues and 
avoid our inherited vices. We must connect with this a 
knowledge of organic law, and of the natural laws of health. 
This will enable us to guard against inherited tendencies to 
particular diseases; and will also teach us the importance of 



8 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

avoiding those pernicious influences and habits which de- 
press the vital forces, impair the integrity of organic life, 
and thus invite the development of latent hereditary affec- 
tions which otherwise would have become extinct. Even 
in the absence of hereditary tendencies, the disorders of 
the constitution, effected by irregular habits and pernicious 
indulgences, will be transmitted to the offspring. The child 
upon whom is entailed an unhappy existence may truly 
point back to his forefathers as the progenitors of his afflic- 
tions as well as of his being. The causes which produce so 
much suffering and loss of life are clearly attributable to the 
many dissipations, excesses, abuses of the animal economy, 
evil associations, and such amusements as lower the natural 
and healthy tone of the mind. The laws of health are de- 
pendent upon the delicate and intricate connection subsist- 
ing between the various organs, the exactness of their func- 
tions, and their free and unrestrained exercise. When, 
therefore, these laws are interfered with and encroached 
upon, and even positively violated by late hours, frequent 
parties, abnormal indulgence of the appetite, the midnight 
dance, and the opera — the human system is radically under- 
mined and rendered utterly unfit for increasing and multi- 
plying its kind. Those day and night draughts upon the 
vital forces entirely break up the beautiful machine of the 
human body, and leave the immortal soul a mere empty bag 
of wind, suited to no good use whatever.* The result to 
the offspring is a patrimony of debility. As a panacea, the 



*The principal sources of degeneracy which appear at present to be most 
active in their influence for evil on large masses of mankind may be stated as fol- 
lows: (i.) Degeneracy from Toxaemia, or from the abuse of alcoholic fluids, 
opium, preparations of Indian hemp (hashish), tobacco, and the like; also, from 



OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING. 9 

anxious parent sends his child to the rural districts, where 
the parents live more in accordance with natural law, and 
the result to the offspring is vigorous health. The prime 
cause of the healthfulness of country children is lost sight 
of by the city parents, who fail to discover in their own bad 
habits the prolific source of the infirmities of their children ; 
and while these habits are demanded by the follies of social 
life, it is to be regretted that frail humanity yet further de- 
scends into the lowest revelries of licentiousness, and brings 
from thence the seeds of still greater evils to posterity. Al- 
though the married state ought to remove the temptation to 
the indulgence of licentious habits, yet these are to be found 
among married people; and the offspring is more apt to 
suffer, as there is not sufficient time before the act of repro- 
duction to admit of the parents recovering from the effects 
of such indulgence. And surely it is not expected to ob- 

the effects of lead, mercury, arsenic, phosphorus ; and from the use of unwhole- 
some vegetable food, such as diseased rye, maize, wheat, and the like. (2.) De- 
generacy from the persistent and pernicious influence of malaria. (3 ) Degen- 
eracy from certain peculiar geological formations, soil and water, as in the de- 
velopment of goitre. (Maclellan, Watson.) See paper on Hygiene of India, 
in Med. Chir. Review. (4.) Degeneracy from the effects of epidemic diseases 
which now and then afflict large populations, profoundly influencing the system, 
and engendering those morbid temperaments whose types are fully expressed in 
the generations which follow the one that has suffered from such epidemic pes- 
tilences. Many of such like epidemics act like toxic agents on the nervous sys- 
tem. (5.) Degeneracy from the effectsof the * great town system," as the phrase 
is. The chief elements of such degeneracy are: [a) Unhealthy situations ; (b.) 
a noxious local and general atmosphere; (c.) insufficient atmosphere; (d.) in- 
sufficient and improper nourishment ; (e.) deleterious avocations; {/.) moral and 
social misery, wretchedness, and crime. (6.) Degeneracy from fundamental 
morbid states, congenital or acquired, as seen in imperfect cerebral developments, 
deaf mutism, blindness, constitutional diseases, and diathesis (implanted, heredi- 
tary, or acquired), such as syphilis and scrofulosis. (7.) Degeneracy from mixed 
causes, from marrying in and in, and from other causes not included in the above. 
{Med. Ckir. Review, Jan., 1S58: Aitken, "Science of Practice. ") 



IO THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

tain good fruit from bad trees ; or a plentiful harvest from 
impoverished or uncultivated lands. Those who raise cattle 
and horses pay strict attention to the stock, that it may be 
of the best and most productive kind. In so doing they act 
upon a recognized principle that to have good progeny, the 
progenitors must likewise be good. The material interest of 
man makes him appreciate the importance of having a 
knowledge of the laws of healthy production and develop- 
ment in the animal and vegetable kingdoms. But the evils 
resulting from the gratification of our own desires are not 
always immediate ; they are often removed from our sight 
to appear in future generations, the representatives of which 
will perhaps be taught, not to regard their ancestors as at 
all responsible, but to consider their afflictions as either 
providential visitations, in consequence of their own trans- 
gressions of the moral law, or as the results of their own 
violations of the laws of health. For these reasons, mar- 
ried people, more especially, should guard against excessive 
indulgence and violations of the laws of health, and correct 
morals, but more particularly against the baneful, contami- 
nating and demoralizing effects of adultery. The penalties 
of this sin often fall heavily upon posterity, constituting for 
it, indeed, a wretched inheritance. 

From the foregoing we may conclude that we are cre- 
ated to live by law, and to be subject to order, and not made 
over to the uncertainties of chance. In fact, the elementary 
constituents of inorganic compounds, no less than organized 
bodies, the phenomena of reproduction, and the continuance 
of life are in accordance with law. Now, were it possible to 
keep these laws inviolate, and the Great Lawmaker not 
arrest their exercise, organized matter would continue through 



OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING. II 

interminable ages, for all we know. In order that the hu- 
man organization may continue in the performance of its 
functions uninterruptedly, it is therefore necessary that these 
laws should be studied and understood, and the importance 
of complying with their demands be appreciated. When 
we look upon the face of a watch and see the hands pointing 
at figure after figure, our admiration is excited by the regu- 
larity and the exactitude of their movements. But on open- 
ing it, we discover how delicate is the machinery that is 
necessary to satisfy the laws of nature ; and how slight a 
derangement of apparently a very insignificant part will 
disarrange the whole mechanism. When it came from the 
hands of its maker it had all of its part complete. It was 
made of durable substances — brass and gold. Its move- 
ments will continue until it is worn out or broken. It re- 
quires no attached apparatus to prepare material for its daily 
sustenance. Its object is single — the keeping of time. 
Hence there is no necessity for a combination of systems or 
organs. 

When we keep in mind the absolute necessity of a strict 
compliance with law in the construction of, comparatively, so 
simple a mechanical apparatus as a watch, we shall better 
appreciate the existence of a much higher order of laws 
when we come to study that more admired and beautiful 
structure — the human economy. Although much of the 
beauty and excellency of these laws, by their intricacy and 
obscurity, escapes our understanding, yet there are many 
phenomena which will, by proper interpretation, be our 
guides for apprehending them in some degree. 

How different from the watch is man! The imper- 
fections acquired from parents are usually irreparable. They 



12 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

will, most likely, be transmitted to each succeeding child. 
He does not come into the world complete; but, to be de- 
veloped. His proximate component parts are not elemen- 
tary substances, but gases, combined according to their laws 
of affinity. When he is resolved into his ultimate chemical 
constituents, there remains only a few ounces of earthy 
matter. He is not at once supplied with the requisite quan- 
tity of material for his existence and movements, but is fur- 
nished with an apparatus for the elaboration of material for 
the construction of his body, and for the removal of waste 
matters. The object of his being is not single, but mani- 
fold. Hence the necessity for organs and systems of organs. 
Their connections are specially delicate, and the disturbance 
of one comparatively insignificant part is promptly reflected 
to other parts, *and is productive of a greater variety of de- 
rangements than would occur with the watch. Deficiencies 
hi the watch may be supplied, and imperfectly arranged 
parts may be re-adjusted ; but in man it is sadly the reverse, 
as his deficiencies and derangements are not only irreparable, 
but transmissible through many generations. A due con- 
sideration of the foregoing ought to induce a high appre- 
ciation of a knowledge of the laws of health and of repro- 
duction, and the importance of complying with all the 
demands which they impose upon us as a duty to posterity. 

As we may reasonably conclude that the offspring par- 
takes of the nature of the parent in its psychical and physical 
constitutions, it now remains to consider those laws which 
govern the transmission of parental characteristics. 

The attention of the reader has already been called to 
the classification of matter under two general heads, viz : 
inorganic and organic. The former is represented by the 



OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING. 13 

mineral, and the latter by the animal and vegetable kingdom. 
The distinguishing feature of the latter class, or organic matter, 
is the cell structure. A cell may be described as a bubble, so 
small as to be seen and studied only under the microscope. 
When many of these are united they form tissue, of which 
animal and vegetable matters are composed; therefore, all 
organic bodies, whether man or insect, trees or plants, con- 
sist of a congeries of cells. This structure is beautifully dis- 
played in the leaf of a flower when highly magnified. From 
a single cell, called the primordial or parent cell, or germ 
produced by the parent — a type of which is found in the 
" tread " of the hen's egg — proceed all the succeeding cells, 
called daughter cells, by duplication. Thus the parent cell 
produces two ; each of these two produce two others, and 
so continue multiplying by twos until a body is formed like 
the parent which gave origin to the primordial cell. A re- 
markable feature of the parent cell is, that those of the sev- 
eral races of animals, and those of the vegetable kingdom, 
are so similar in appearance as to make it impossible to de- 
termine, upon examination, whether it would germinate into 
a human being, an animal, a fish, a fowl, a tree, or a plant. 
Yet, notwithstanding its minuteness and indistinctness of 
character, it seems to possess the power of determining the 
shape and size of the offspring, the character of its organic 
structure, and the manner in which the organs shall perform 
their vital functions. These are certainly great issues to 
proceed from a body so small. 

From the foregoing we can fully appreciate the import- 
ance of the cell in the production of the offspring, and are 
forced to the conclusion that the cell is endowed with some 
attribute peculiar to itself, independent of the impregnating 



14 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

fluid of the male. This conclusion is still farther strength- 
ened when we contrast the male secretion with the female 
cell. The latter is an organized body, in miniature; and is 
not, as a cell, secreted from the blood of the mother. 
There is a small bladder, the "graafian vesicle" or "ovisac" 
in the stroma of the ovary, a small organ situated one on 
each side of the womb, within which the parent cell is 
formed and orga?iized out of material supplied by the blood 
of the mother, and through the lining membrane of the 
ovisac. The parent cell is thus organized under the direct 
influence of the life-giving power of the blood of the 
mother; and is thereby impressed with a type of her organ- 
ism; and this type passes into the organic structure of the 
offspring. It is for this reason that the influence of the female 
supersedes the male parent in the formation of the brain, and of 
the organs within the trunk. 

The cell, as supplied by the mother, is of short duration, 
but when it is impregnated with the male fluid, it starts on 
its course in the formation of the foetus. This fluid pos- 
sesses no cell structure, although it contains the spermatozoa, 
which are very active in their movements. This activity 
proceeds from their animal nature, as the name implies, be- 
ing derived from the two Greek words: sperma (seed), and 
zodfi (an animal). Their function in reproduction is to supply 
the animal construction to the offspring. Therefore, the in- 
fluence of the male supersedes that of the female parent i?i the 
animal construction of the organism. 

We have just seen that matter is divisible into inorganic 
and organic bodies ; * that the cell is the distinguishing fea- 

*The cell is a sine qua non to the existence of an organized body; but not 
to organic matter — as the white of an egg, or the spermatozoa are organic mat- 
ters, but are not organic organized bodies. 



OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING. 15 

ture of the latter, and that organic bodies consist of a con- 
geries of cells. We will now confine our remarks to the 
animal creation, including man, and will consider the sub- 
ject under two heads, viz: the animal, and the organism or 
organical construction of the animal. By the animal con- 
struction is meant the framework which gives support and 
strength to the body; and consists in the bone, muscle, fibroid, 
and cellular tissue, which enter into the construction of every 
organ and portion of the body. The organism, or organical 
construction, pertains to the vital organs, the brain, and the 
organs ccntained in the trunk. The vital organs give rise 
to, and determine the greatness and the qualities of the 
spirit or soul of the being. The ass and the horse supply a 
marked illustration of the different degrees and qualities of 
the mind, or spirit, or soul* that can be produced by vital or- 
gans. The former is preeminently an animal, and shows 
his brutal nature in every feature, notwithstanding his vital 
organs are anatomically like those of the horse, which pos- 
sesses such organs as will supply a spirit that animates and 
raises him far above the asinine creature. Now, the female 
parent supplies an organized body in miniature — the cell, 
which determines the organical construction of the vital or- 
gans ; the manner in which these are to perform their func- 
tions; and, consequently, the extent and qualities of the 
spirit, or soul, or mind of the offspring. 

There are phenomena of daily occurrence in the pro- 
ductions of the animal creation which can not be explained 
upon any hypothesis other than the one given above. First 
among these prominently stands the fact that hereditary 

*A11 animals possess, in some degree, a spirit, or soul, or mind; but none, ex- 
cept man, are endowed with immortality. 



1 6 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

diseases of the vital organs are more apt to be transmitted 
from the mother to the offspring than from the father. We 
also find here sufficient explanation of the child inheriting 
the general features and make-up of the father; whereas 
the general disposition of the mind, and the manner in 
which the vital organs perform their functions, are strongly 
marked by those which characterize the mother. And still 
farther, Dr. Carpenter, in his " Principles of Physiology," 
says : "It has long been a prevalent idea, that certain parts 
of the organism* of the offspring are derived from the 
male, and certain other parts from the female parent ; and 
although no universal rule can be laid down upon this 
point, yet the independent observations which have been 
l.iade by numerous practical 'breeders' of domestic animals 
(both mammals and birds) seem to establish that such a 
tendency has a real existence, the characters of the animal por- 
tion of the organism being especially, (but not exclusively) 
derived from the male parent, and those of the organic ap- 
paratus being in like manner derived from the female parent. 
The former will be chiefly manifested in the external appear- 
ance, in the general configuration of the head and limbs, in 
the organs of the senses (including the skin), and in the 
locomotive apparatus ; whilst the latter show themselves in 
the size of the body (which is primarily determined by the 
development of the viscera contained in the trunk) and in 
the mode in which the vital functions are performed. Thus 
the mule, which is the produce of the male ass and the mare, 
is essentially a modified ass, having the general configuration 
of its sire (slightly varied by equine peculiarities), but hav- 
ing the rounder trunk and the larger size of its dam; on the 

*Here *' organism"' means the whole body, including the extremities. 



OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING. 1 7 

Other hand, the hinny, which is the offspring of the stallion 
and the she-ass, is essentially a modified horse, having the 
general configuration of the horse (though with a slight ad- 
mixture of asinine features), but being a much smaller ani- 
mal than its sire, and thus approaching its dam in size, as 
well as in the comparative narrowness of its trunk." Here 
we have an illustration of the influence which the male and 
the female parents separately exert in the production of the 
offspring that is clear to the understanding, full in the de- 
tails, and complete in all of its parts. 

Now, in the application of these principles to the re- 
productions of the human race, we will take, as the basis of 
our remarks, the following quotation from a most excellent 
work on infancy, by Dr. A. Combe, who says : 

" It is a very common saying, that clever men have generally 
stupid children, and that those of men of genius are little better than 
fools: and the inference is drawn, that the constitution of the father 
has very little influence on that of the children. I admit the fact 
that the families of men of genius are rarely remarkable for talent : 
but deduce from it a directly opposite conclusion, and maintain that 
those very cases are proof of the reality of the father's influence on 
the constitution of his descendants, and consequently direct warnings 
for our guidance. If we consider for a moment the state of health 
and general mode of life of men of genius, what can be farther re- 
moved from the standard of nature ? Are they not, as a race, enthu- 
siastic, excitable, irregular, the sport of every passing emotion, and, 
almost without exception, martyrs to indigestion, and often to melan- 
choly ? And are these the seeds from which nature has designed 
healthy vigor of mind and body to spring up in their offspring ? Take 
into account, also, the influence of the mother, and the well-known 
fact that men of genius rarely select the highly-gifted in the opposite 
sex for their partners through life, and then say whether high talent 
can reasonably be expected to emanate from parents, one of whom, 



1 8 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

the mother, rises at best only to mediocrity, and the other, the 
father, falls temporarily, to or below it, from sheer exhaustion of mind 
and broken health. Would it not rather be wonderful, if, in such 
untoward circumstances, the genius were to descend in unabated 
splendor, even to the first line of the posterity? It is not from such 
materials that living genius has sprung, and never will be ; for even 
were the child to inherit all the father's fire, he would receive along 
with it a morbid delicacy and irritability of temperament, which 
would render it impossible for him to survive the period of early in- 
fancy. A genius might, in some favorable moment, be bom to such 
a father; but he would die before the world could tell that a genius 
had lived. The circumstances in which the highest order of minds 
most frequently appear, are where the father is healthy and active, 
and the mother unites an energetic character with vigorous bodily 
health, or with some high-sustaining excitement animating all her 
mental and bodily functions. The mother of Bonaparte was of this 
description ; and the mothers of most of our celebrated men will be 
found to have been more or less distinguished for similar character- 
istics; and, accordingly, how often in the biographies of men of 
genius do we remark that it was the mother who first perceived and 
fanned the flame which burst into after brightness! Taking the 
whole circumstances, then, into consideration, the influence of the 
father, although often less strong than that of the mother, remains 
unquestionable, and the exception in the case of men of genius is not 
real, but only apparent from being imperfectly understood." 

This is certainly strong argument. But is it true? Does 
it accord with physiological fact ? Does it tell us what consti- 
tutes sex? Does it give a satisfactory explanation of genius 
not descending from father to son? In remarking upon 
this quotation, it may be observed, first, that the cause of 
genius, not descending from father to son, is ascribed to 
" the state of health a?id mode of life of men of genius" The 
fallacy of the notion that genius is hereditary becomes ap- 
parent when we consider the fact that the fathers of men of 



OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING. 19 

genius are usually ordinary and obscure men; and as genius 
rarely ever descends from father to son, we may justly con- 
clude that this order of mind is not a factor in the produc- 
tion of men of genius. Again, the non-hereditary char- 
acter of genius is evident from the fact that when nature di- 
rects her efforts in the construction of a brain of great 
powers, she does so at the expense of the animal powers of 
the structure. This obtains among children who are unduly 
pressed in their studies, whose brain expansion is at the ex- 
pense of their physical development. For this reason, also, 
men of genius have not the ability to resist excessive indul- 
gences ; if animal power does not respond to their will in 
their own natures, they seek for some external substitute, 
which answers their purpose so long as it lasts, but when the 
stimulus vanishes, they find themselves in the depths of 
gloom and despair. Now, the nature of a father so arti- 
ficially excited cannot supply the cell with such a degree of 
animal strength as will support so great an amount of brain 
force ; for even were the child to inherit alt the father's fire, he 
would, for want of a proper animal construction, receive 
along with it a morbid delicacy, and irritability of temperament, 
which would render it impossible for him to survive the period of 
early infancy." Attention may be called to the fact that our 
author has not mentioned genius among the "circumstances 
in which the highest order of minds most frequently ap- 
pear. " But ' ' where the father is healthy and active, " not 
where he is a genius, do we find healthy and active sperm- 
atozoa, from which spring the animal parts of the structure 
capable of supporting the ' ' highest order of minds." Among 
the "circumstances" pertaining to the mother, no mention 
is made of the "highly-gifted of the opposite sex," because 



20 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

this also is not found, practically, to be a factor in the pro- 
duction of men of genius. The course of reasoning our 
author pursues indicates that he arrived at his conclusions 
expressed in the "circumstances" by observing the results 
obtained from the various conditions under which our race 
is constantly being reproduced, instead of having drawn 
them from physiological research. This sufficiently explains 
the seeming discrepancy between his course of reasoning 
and his conclusions. When the practical results as obtained 
from the reproductions of the race are brought into view 
side by side with the line of argument presented here in 
support of the teachings of physiology, we find them to har- 
monize in a most beautiful and striking manner. It is quite 
pertinent to inquire why the "highly-gifted in the opposite 
sex" is not a factor in the production of superior minds? 
This finds a solution : first, in the fact that a mother can 
possess this order of mind without either an energetic char- 
acter or bodily health ; second, she may possess all these, 
and yet lack that very essential one, " high and sustaining 
excitement animating all her mental and bodily functions." 
For it is this animated state that deeply impresses the cell with 
organical constructive power arid brain force. To whatever de- 
gree the former may exist, without this latter circumstance 
genius can never be transmitted to the offspring. Our au- 
thor proceeds to show the truthfulness of these circum- 
stances by referring to the character of the mothers who pro- 
duce most of our great men — " first perceived and fanned the 
flame which burst into after brightness." He concludes thus: 

"Taking the whole circumstance into consideration, the influ- 
ence of the father, although often less strong than that of the mother, 
remains unquestionable, and the exception in the case of men of 
genius is not real, but only apparent from being imperfectly under- 
stood." 



OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING. 21 

Hence it is seen that a. perfect knowledge of "the whole 
eircwnstances" shows that physiology does not demand any 
of the brilliant qualities of the father for the adornment of 
the son; but only requires the full strength of his animal powers 
to give support and strength to the physical development of the 
offspring. Therefore, the case of men of genius forms 
no exception to the laws of reproduction, but goes far to 
show the direction in which nature designs the influence of 
the male parent to be exerted in the production of the offspring. 

From the physiology of the production of the parent 
cell — its organic construction passing into the vital organs 
of the offspring; and, determining the manner in which 
these organs shall perform their functions — we learn the im- 
portance of cultivating the organic, rather than the physical 
or animal, construction of the female. Whereas, the physi- 
ology of the spermatozoa, their animal construction passing 
into the physical structures of the organism, does teach the 
importance of cultivating the animal, rather than the or- 
ganic construction of the male. As nature is ever true to 
herself, she has assigned the charge of the offspring and the 
household affairs to the female as her special duties in life, 
as studies, literature, verse, music, drawing, and paint- 
ing, are peculiarly adapted to her nature. This cultivation 
of the organic construction of the female enables her to 
endure the annoyances and confinement which those duties 
impose upon her ; while by nature man is peculiarly adapted 
to the plow-handle, the work-shop, the legislative hall, and 
the battle-field — these strengthen his animal powers, and dull 
the sensitiveness of his organism, whereby he is enabled to 
endure the hardships to which he is exposed.* 

*"Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae. propterea quod a cultu atque human- 
itate provincial longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant, 
atque ea qttce ad effemitiandos animos pestinent important.' 1 



22 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

From the foregoing, we discover sex, in the female, to 
consist in the predominance of the organic over the animal 
part of the structure, and is manifested in the skin being 
softer, the hair finer, and the bones and muscles smaller 
than in the male ; and in the lack of beard ; and additional 
sets of organs — the uterus and mammary glands. She is 
characterized by softness, sensibility, and modesty ; whereas, 
the predominance of the animal in man, is characterized by 
boldness, firmness, and muscular strength : 

"Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible; 
Thou, stern, obdurate, flinty, rough, remorseless." 

The softness and mildness of the female is due to her 
nearer approach to the spiritual state in which we will 
exist when the soul is separated from the body, "where 
flesh and blood cannot enter" Angels, therefore, differ from 
women in their freedom from the contaminations of the 
flesh; and as woman has less of the animal in the construction 
of her organism, she is therefore purer ; and, in her fall, 
she descends from a higher state of purity than man, and de- 
scends to a lower depth of degradation — with the chances of 
her reformation far more precarious. 

We have already considered the necessity of complying 
with law to obtain true happiness and substantial success ; 
and have seen that when irregularities are substituted for 
law, evil results will ensue ; and in the affairs of men, there 
is no law, the violation of which will bring greater evils 
upon our race than those which pertain to the sexes. When- 
ever one of the fairer sex claims to be one of the ' c stronger 
minded, " and endeavors to cope with man, she relinquishes 
her claim upon his protective care ; and will, by becom- 
ing masculine, cease to be the object of his love and admira- 



OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING. 23 

tion.* On the other hand, we find that the male, by con- 
stantly performing the duties peculiar to female life, will 
become so effeminate as to lose the admiration of the oppo- 
site sex : 

"A woman, impudent and mannish grown, 
Is not more loathed, than an effeminate man 
In time of action." 

Those are not the circumstances in which the highest order 
of minds most frequently appear, but are perversions of the 
law established by Deity, from which great evils accrue to 
posterity in the shape of effeminate men with feeble minds. 
Now, let the effeminate man and the masculine woman be 
contrasted with the requirements of natural law as set forth 
in the following quotation, and see if such should be selected 
for the propagation of a healthy and vigorous race. Dr. 
Carpenter, in his Principles of Physiology, says : 

il But, farther, there are many examples in which the presence of 
a certain substance in the blood appears to determine the formation 
of the particular tissue, of which that substance is the appropriate 
pabulum.t And thus as the abstraction of the material required for 
each part leaves the blood in a state fitted for the nutrition of other 
parts, it seems to follow, as Mr. Paget has further remarked, that such 
a mutual dependence exists amongst the several parts and organs of 
the body as causes the evolution of one to supply the conditions re- 
quisite for the production of another ; and hence, that the order in 
which the several organs of the body appear in the course of devel- 

*The masculine or animal nature of some men is so great as to lower the 
man, almost, to the level of the brute. Esau was somewhat of this character — 
all over, like a hairy garment, . . . and was a cunning hunter." Such a man 
was not permitted to receive the blessings of so good a man as Isaac; and to be 
a patriarch in the house of Israel. 

fin the blood of the female is the appropriate pabulum for the formation of 
the cell ; and in the blood of the male is the appropriate pabulum for the con- 
struction of the spermatozoon. 



24 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

opment, while it is conformable to the law of imitation of the parent, 
and to the law of progressive ascent towards the higher grade of be- 
ings, is yet the immediate result of changes effected in the conditions 
of the blood by the antecedent operations. And this view is con- 
firmed by many circumstances, which indicate that certain organs 
really do stand in such a complemental relation to one another as it im- 
plies ; a large class of facts of this order being supplied by the history 
of the evolution of the generative apparatus, and by that of concur- 
rent changes in other organs (especially in the integumentary) which 
are found to be dependent upon it, although there is no direct func- 
tional relation between them. 

" Thus the growth of beard in man, at the period of puberty, is 
but a type of a much more important change which takes place in 
many animals with every recurrence of the period of generative ac- 
tivity. This is most obvious in birds, whose plumage, at the com- 
mencement of the breeding season, becomes (especially in the male) 
more highly colored, besides being augmented by the growth of new 
feathers ; but when the sexual organs pass into their state of periodic 
atrophy, the plumage at once begins to assume a paler and more 
sombre hue, and many of the feathers are usually cast, their nutri- 
tion being no longer kept up. 

a It is a matter of common observation, that the deficiency of 
hair on the face (where this is not, as among the Asiatics, a charac- 
teristic of race) is usually concurrent with a low amount of genera- 
tive power in the male, and may be considered as indicative of it; 
whilst, on the other hand, the presence of hair on the upper-lip and 
chin of the female, is indicative of a tendency in the general organi- 
zation and mental character towards the attributes of the male, and 
of a deficiency in those which are typical of the female. 

6i If, moreover, the development of the male organs be prevented, 
the evolution of the beard does not take place; whilst the strong 
growth of hair on the face, as well as by other changes, may be at- 
tributed to the presence of some special nutritive material in the 
blood, for which there is no longer any other demand. This again 
shows itself yet more strongly in birds, among which (as Hunter long 
since pointed out) it is no uncommon occurrence for the female, after 



OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING. 25 

ceasing to lay, to assume the plumage of the male, and even to acquire 
other characteristic parts, as the spurs in the fowl tribe. Moreover, 
it has been ascertained by the experience of Sir Philip Egerton, that 
if a buck be castrated while his antlers are growing and are still cov- 
ered with the velvet, their growth is checked, they remain as if trun- 
cated, and irregular nodules of bone project from their surfaces; 
whilst if the castration be performed when the antlers are full grown, 
they are shed nearly as usual at the end of the season, but in the next 
season are only replaced by a kind of low, conical stumps." 

From what we have already seen, and in connection 
with this quotation, it is very clear, indeed, that the female, 
by following the pursuits which naturally belong to the male, 
will cultivate that principle, or pabulum, which is formed in 
the blood for the reproduction of the race — for the produc- 
tion of spemiatozoa, rather than for the formation of the or- 
ganic body, the cell. In proportion to the extent of this culti- 
vation, so will be the external masculine appearance of the 
female, and less vigorous will be the organic construc- 
tion of the cell ; and, therefore, her offspring will be de- 
ficient in mind, spirit, or soul. These same principles apply 
with equal force to the male. Effeminating influences will 
effeminate his spermatozoa, and his offspring will be de- 
ficient in stamina. 

Another obligation to the succeeding generation arising 
out of what constitutes sex is, the method of training the 
female mind. The course of study best adapted to her na- 
ture, and which will more fully prepare her for the part she 
is destined to perform in the reproduction of the race, is 
one that will stimulate the mental faculties, and enliven the 
vital organs in the performance of their functions; and to 
such an extent as will develop the reasoning powers, and 
yet not depress the organism. By such a course of study, 



26 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

with indulgence only in those refinements and habits natural 
to the sex, she will make true advances to the standard of 
her nature, and heighten the purity, strength, and nobility 
of her character, and will, in a great measure, supply a 
"high and sustaining excitement, animating all her mental and 
bodily functions" 

The male mind, on the contrary, should be trained in 
the deeper researches of the languages, arts, and sciences 
— these bringing out the animal or masculine strength of the 
brain, and enabling him to cope with the widest sphere of in- 
telligence; man with man, and nation with nation. It is 
thus man is enabled to obtain the advantages which are 
derived from mechanics, art, science, religion, peace, politics, 
and war — wherein are found the problems with which the 
mental powers of man must grapple, and are beyond the ef- 
feminate powers of the female mind. 

It is, then, quite obvious that "mixed" institutions of 
learning cannot supply the mental training best adapted to 
either of the sexes, as both must pursue the same course of 
studies. This method of education will cause the one to as- 
similate the characteristics of the other — the female will be- 
come masculine, and the male effeminate. And what else 
can, finally, be expected, but a race degenerate in mind and 
body — imbecile ? Therefore, let our daughters become women, 
and our sons become men. These ends can be obtained by 
sending our daughters to female schools, where they are 
daily associated with things and studies which tend to effemi- 
nate the blood, and, consequently, the mind and body; and 
our sons to male schools, where the studies, and the things 
with which they are associated, will make their blood mascu- 
line. This method of education will produce women and 
men, who are such in the full and expressed language of na- 



OBLIGATIONS TO OFFSPRING. 27 

ture's God; will greatly intensify the pleasures which arise 
from the mingling of the sexes in the social and family circles, 
and greatly contribute to supplying the ' ' circumstances 
in which the highest order of minds mosf frequently appear." 
A very prolific source of evils to the offspring is found 
in early marrying. Females frequently enter the marital re- 
lation before the constitution is fully perfected in all its parts 
through the slow organizing processes of nature, which gives 
the organism health, strength, stamina, and longevity. Early 
child-bearing tends to hasten the constitution through the 
processes of maturation to a less perfect state of woman- 
hood, in a period of life when the mother should yet be a 
girl ; and she herself, being deficient in those essential qual- 
ities just enumerated, will not be able to transmit them to 
her offspring. Child-bearing and the rearing of children 
pertain to womanhood, and not to girlhood. As the age of 
maturity for women is twenty to twenty-five, there is a child- 
-bearing period of twenty-five or thirty years. When a girl 
marries at the age of fifteen, she adds to this period ten 
years of the most important part of her existence. This 
time of life should be spent in active mental and physical 
exercise, that the organism may arrive at such a perfect state 
of development as will enable the female to endure the 
hardships and privations which attend the child-bearing 
woman. Youth is buoyant, full of hope, and lives in an- 
ticipation of great joy to be realized in the distant future. 
These stimulate the organism, and excite the formative pro- 
cesses which bring bodily health and knowledge — which 
make her an ornament in society ; but these must, for the 
gratification of parent and lover, be supplanted by bodily 
infirmity and early decay, and the production of offspring 
with enfeebled constitutions. 



28 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 



PART II. 



OF THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 



We are now to consider the foetus in utero, the embryo 
of the infant, which is to be the object of the mother's love, 
of the father's affection, and of their common care. The in- 
tensity of this love is manifested in deep parental anxiety 
for the recovery of the sick babe ; or in the grieved and 
broken hearts, when death, with his ruthless hands, takes 
it away. 

Could the foetus be the recipient of the same love and 
care, it would frequently be saved from many future evils. 
It is not, unfortunately, regarded as a thing of so much im- 
portance ; but, that the mother may enjoy an evening's enter- 
tainment, a feast, a dance, or a fashionable dress, the foetus 
must be subjected to influences which may affect it in the 
more advanced periods of its existence. And we know of 
no grounds of excuse, nor of aught in extenuation, of the 
criminality of the woman who wilfully subjects the being so 
carefully placed within her womb to agencies which are 
detrimental to its future happiness. In this enlightened age, 



THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 29 

ignorance is no excuse. The medical profession is ever 
ready to supply the requisite information, and has placed 
within the reach of all, such books as will afford valuable in- 
formation, not only upon this, but other equally important 
points. 

Parental love and affection are induced in a great de- 
gree by the dependence of the infant upon its parents for 
the supply of its necessities. This fact should direct more 
specific attention to the proper management of the mother 
through the term of pregnancy. During this time the foetus 
is much more dependent. Its constitution is organizing. It 
is more susceptible to the effects of detrimental influences, 
which result in constitutional derangements. These facts 
make it imperative upon the mother to fully inform herself 
of the connection of the foetus with her organism, and of 
the proper management of herself through the term of 
uterine gestation. This brings us to the consideration of the 
relation which exists between the mother and the fcetus in 
uiero, and of the agencies which affect the latter through the 
organism of the mother. 

For the better elucidation of the relation which exists 
between the mother and the foetus, it is necessary to con- 
sider some of the laws of nutrition, and some of those 
which govern matter. There are many phenomena found 
in nature that are beyond the comprehension of man. We 
have in our gardens flowers in great variety, and vegetables 
of many kinds, growing from the same soil, and swayed by 
the same breezes; and we know not whence are the beauties 
of the rose, the savor of the berry, or the nourishing proper- 
ties of the vegetable. But in the human structure there are 
tissues of a higher grade of organization, and of different 



30 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

kinds, as the brain, lung, muscle, bone, and nerve, 
which are germinated, developed, and maintained in a per- 
sistent, healthy state by the same circulating fluid — the blood. 
Not only the maintenance of a healthy state of the several 
tissues, but life itself depends upon the integrity of each of 
the constituents of the blood. It is then a matter of the 
highest importance for the blood to preserve its integrity, 
and to be ever ready to supply the several tissues with the 
pabulum appropriate to each. The importance of this con- 
dition of the blood to a persistent, healthy, state of the econ- 
omy, is too great to be left to mere chance, and is, there- 
fore, secured in those self-formative and self-sustaining powers 
which constitute it the vital fluid. Through this vitality, the 
blood is enabled to imbibe and to assimilate the material 
proper to its sustenance, and to eliminate all rejected mat- 
ters through the emunctory functions of the several organs. 
This conservative power of the blood is sufficiently well es- 
stablished by physiological facts, and by results obtained 
from the administering of medicines. In addition to this, 
there are other facts which strongly support the doctrine of 
its conservative power ; and these are, its ability to resist 
disease, and strong tendency to recover from a diseased to 
a normal state. Moreover, the blood makes forcible efforts 
to retain the peculiar type which characterizes families. In 
this we find the channel through which family traits and 
hereditary diseases, such as phthisis, cancer, and syphilis, 
pass through generations. So great, in fact, is the tendency 
of the blood to retain its type that, though these traits and 
diseases may meet with unfavorable circumstances for their 
development, and lie dormant through one or more genera- 
tions, they finally reappear — constituting the phenomenon 



THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 3 1 

known in scientific language as atavism, and among stock- 
raisers as breeding back. 

As we have already seen, the material condition of the 
germ depends upon the habitual state of the parents who 
supply its component parts. The material condition of mat- 
ter is the state in which it naturally exists. But there are 
certain influences that can be brought to bear upon matter 
that will cause it to pass into other states, known as dynamic 
conditions. Thus, lead is, materially, a solid; whereas, in a 
melted state, it is, dynamically, a fluid body; and heat is 
the dynamic force. However often the lead may pass from 
one of these conditions to the other, there will be no change 
produced in either the metal or the heat. Such, however, 
is not the case with organic matter. When an egg is exposed 
to a high temperature, it will undergo such a change as will 
preclude the possibility of a return to its material, original 
condition. Therefore, every action belonging to living mat- 
ter involves a change of structure, and this change will in- 
crease with the growth of the body, as an eschar produced upon 
the body of an infant will increase, pari passu, with the 
growth of its body. The blood, ahhough a fluid, is suscep- 
tible to the effects of dynamic forces, which remain, as e> 
chars, in the blocd. Such is the explanation of the case of 
a man who, having a sixth finger on each hand, and a sixth 
toe on each foot, transmitted the deformities to a son, whose 
three sons, also, were characterized by the same deformities 

We recognize our relation to surrounding objects by our 
senses; and, through these, impressions are made upon our 
organism, which vary greatly in character from each other — 
some being animating and wholesome; others displeasing, 
depressing, and even destructive to life itself. These im- 



32 



THE HEALTHY INFANT. 



pressions are received, and the effects are produced through 
the agency of the nervous system. Thus, grief and alarm 
have caused temporary derangements of the nervous sys- 
tem, and permanent lesions, such as issue in lunacy, idiocy, 
and death. In illustration of the effects of fear, Dr. Condie 
cites the case of a female child, who, having been repeat- 
edly threatened by her parents with being given to a sweep 
to take away in his bag, on accidentally encountering a 
sweep who had entered the house in pursuit of his avoca. 
cation, fell down immediately into a violent fit of convul- 
sions, that terminated fatally in a few hours. Sir Astley 
Cooper refers to a case of a young girl who, for some of- 
fense, was put by a school mistress into a dark cellar. Dur- 
ing the period of her incarceration, she was in a continued 
state of dreadful fright, and was returned to her parents in 
a similar but modified state. She passed a restless night, 
and in the morning was found to be laboring under fever. 
She constantly implored not to be put into the cellar. On 
the fourth day, Sir Astley Cooper saw the child, and, not- 
withstanding his efforts to relieve her, she was, three days 
afterwards, a corpse.* These are the effects of dynamic 
forces upon living matter; and it would be well, indeed, if 
these could be limited to the organism of the mother, and 
not involve the foetus also. 

The foetus is enclosed in an organ richly endowed with 
nerves and blood-vessels, and obtains its nourishment di- 
rectly from, and eliminates its effete matter through, the 
mother's blood. These facts make the foetus, virtually, as 
much a part of her organization as her heart, lungs, or brain, 
and equally liable to the effects of dynamic forces to which 

*For a history of these cases, see Condie on Diseases of Children. 



THE FOETUS IN UTERO. 33 

the pregnant female is peculiarly liable. When we consider 
that the mother's organism has arrived at its fully-developed 
state, and power of resisting the effects of these forces, and 
contrast this state with the foetus, we can understand the lia- 
bility of the formative stage of the foetus to affections, deform- 
ities, and to premature birth, as the results of dynamic force, 
though the mother herself may escape unharmed. This brings 
us to the consideration of the influences which affect the off- 
spring through the organism of the mother, and they are the 
following : 

A. — Alarm, dynamic force. 

B. — Normal changes in the organism of the mother. 

C. — Abnormal changes in the organism of the mother. 

A. — There are various kinds of congenital deformities, 
and these consist of increased local vascularities, deposition 
of pigment and hair follicles, occasionally found upon the 
bodies of newly-born infants. These are supposed to be 
representations of an ax, a knife, a sword, an animal, or of 
some other object by which the mother had been frightened. 
Through a transient agitation, the implement or object had 
been physically photographed upon the body of the offspring. 
They are also supposed to represent different kinds of fruit, 
or other eatables, that the mother may have, through a mor- 
bid appetite, longed for. All this is contrary to physio- 
logical facts and correct observation, and is the popular, but 
erroneous, method of accounting for the so-called ' e mother's 
marks." The pregnant female is exposed to accidents oc- 
casioning great alarm, or to deep mental emotions, accom- 
panied with great agitation of her nervous system, that will 
do as great violence to the foetus, in the space of a few mo- 
ments, as the slow process of enervation by disease in a long 
time. Should the foetus survive the shock, it will suffer 



34 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

through life with some form of nervous derangement, and 
finally die with premature old age. These dynamic condi- 
tions are sometimes accompanied with local deformities. A 
very striking instance of this kind was told the author by an 
aged physician and friend, whose intelligence and purity of 
character place his statement far beyond question ; and as 
it occurred in his father's family, there can be no mistake 
concerning the particulars. He says : 

" A bee concealed in some honey my father was eating stung him 
on the tongue. This caused it to swell almost to suffocation. The 
unhappy circumstance took place, unfortunately, during the time my 
mother was pregnant with her second child. This child proved to be 
a sadly-afflicted son. His tongue was so much enlarged that he could 
not articulate a single word ; nor could he control the saliva within 
his mouth, which caused a constant slabbering. He was mentally an 
imbecile, and died of premature old age at only thirty years. The 
immediate family, and both maternal and paternal ancestry were noted 
for their freedom from any hereditary tendencies whatever, and this 
is the only instance of the kind known to have occurred with any of 
their relatives. The mental affliction, the premature old age, and the 
deformity of the tongue, were, unquestionably, the results of the as- 
signed cause." 

The causes which bring like results to the foetus are 
found not only in the home affairs of life, but under all cir- 
cumstances which may surround the pregnant female. 
Hence, times of public danger afford illustrative casualties, 
of which the following is referred to by Dr. Combe, re- 
lated by Baron Percy as having occurred after the siege of 
Landau, in 1793: 

" In addition to a violent cannonading, which kept the women 
in a constant state of alarm, the arsenal blew up with a terrific explo- 
sion, which few could listen to with unshaken nerves. Out of ninety- 
two children born in the district within a few months afterwards, it is 



THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 35 

stated that sixteen died at the instant of birth ; thirty-three languished 
for from eight to ten months after birth; eight became idiotic, 
and died before the age of five years, and two came into the world, 
with numerous fractures of the bones of the limbs, caused by the con- 
vulsive starts in the mother, excited by the cannonading and explosion." 

Here, then, is a total of fifty-nine children out of ninety- 
two, or within a trifle of two out of every three, actually 
killed through the medium of the mother's alarm. It will 
be observed that, in every instance, the general system was 
affected, and there is no allusion to local manifestation, or 
such deformities as "mother's marks;" and this strictly ac- 
cords with the physiological connection which exists between 
the mother and the foetus. A correct understanding of this 
relation removes the grounds for attributing local deformities 
or " mother's marks " to the impressions of the instrument, or 
means by which the mother was frightened, or to any emo- 
tions of her mind or heart. This conclusion is further sup- 
ported by the effects upon the human organization, of a con- 
stant state of apprehension of evil. This retards the pro- 
gress of nutrition and development, and is supposed to cause 
a total arrest of these functions, and induce gangrene and 
death. A case of this kind is related by M. Ridard:* 

t( A man, thirty years of age, was affected with stone in the to '■ 
der, and saw a patient die by his side after being operated up for 
the same complaint. His imagination became excited, his thoughts 
being constantly fixed upon the operation which he himself expected 
to undergo, and upon the probable death that would follow ; and the 
result was, that without any operation at all, he died at the end of a 
month, affected with gangrene of both penis and scrotum." 

Dr. Carpenter says: 

"Hence, also, it is that the morbid feelings of the hypochondriac^ 
who is constantly directing his attention to his own fancied ailments, 

* Carpenter's Principles of Physiology. 



36 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

tend to induce real disorders in the action of the organs which are 
supposed to be affected." 

In the same category, too, may be placed those in- 
stances (to which any value may be attached) wherein a 
strong and persistent impression upon the mind of the 
mother, has appeared to produce a corresponding effect 
upon the development of the foetus in utero. In this case, 
the effect (if admitted to be really exerted) must be pro- 
duced upon the maternal blood, and transmitted through it to 
the foetus, since there is no nervous communication between 
the parent and the offspring. 

B. — As we advance from infancy to old age, the organ- 
ism passes through successive changes induced by develop- 
ment, education, and experience in the affairs of life; thus, 

" The tear down childhood's cheek that flows, 
Is like the dew-drop on the rose ; 
When next the summer breeze comes by, 
And waves the bush, the flower is dry." 

" Youth is ever apt to judge in haste, 
And lose the medium in the wild extreme." 

"These are the effects of doting age, 

Vain doubts, and idle cares, and over-caution." 

The character of these changes is determined, in a 
great measure, by the influences which are brought to bear 
upon the individual, and in a manner that, "If a reflective, 
aged man, were to find at the bottom of an old trunk, where 
it had lain forgotten fifty years, a record, which he had 
written of himself when he was young, simply and vividly 
describing his whole heart and pursuits, and reciting ver- 
batim many passages of the language which he sincerely ut- 
tered, would he not read it with as much wonder as if it had 



THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 37 

come to him from the dead ? He would surely half lose 
the sense of his identity under the impression of this dis- 
similarity. It would appear as if it must be the tale of the 
juvenile days of some ancestor, with whom he had no con- 
nection but that of name. He would feel that the young 
man thus introduced to him was separated by so wide a dis- 
tance of character as to render all congenial association or 
connection impossible. At every sentence he would be 
tempted to repeat: 'Foolish youth, I have no sympathy 
with your feelings; I can hold no converse with your un- 
derstanding ! ' Thus, you see, that in the course of a long 
life a man may experience several moral individualities dif- 
ferent from each other ; that, if you could find a real indi- 
vidual that would fulfil the characteristics of these stages in 
their several developments down to the last, and then bring 
them all together into one society, as the representatives of 
the successive stages of one man, they would feel themselves 
a most heterogeneous party, would oppose and probably de- 
spise one another, and soon after separate, not caring ever 
to meet again. If the dissimilarity in mind were as great 
as in person, there would in both respects be a most striking 
contrast between the youth of seventeen and the sage of 
seventy. The one of these contrasts, an old, man might con- 
template, if he had a true portrait for which he had sat in 
the bloom of his life, and should hold it before a mirror in 
which he beholds his present countenance ; and the other 
he would powerfully feel, if he had such a genuine and de- 
tailed memoir as I have supposed." If it were possible for 
the circumstances of home, and of public affairs, and the 
state of science under which a child might be born, to con- 
tinue uninterruptedly through life ; his organism would pass 



38 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

through less and fewer changes than under the ever-changing 
affairs of human existence. Therefore, the greater the vicissi- 
tudes of a given family, the greater will be the difference in 
those children born at the extreme periods of the parents' 
life. These differences may be regarded as the expression 
of the several changes through which the parents may have 
passed. If the truth of this is admitted, it becomes a mat- 
ter of the highest importance to pay due regard to the char- 
acter of the influences which are brought to bear upon our- 
selves — and especially those to which our children are sub- 
jected. 

C. — The abnormal conditions of the system are caused 
by disease, the loss of near relatives, adverse circumstances, 
or a constant state of expectation of evil. These abnormi- 
ties become more manifest in pregnancy, because the vital 
organs are more active in the performance of their func- 
tions, and the maternal instinct is being strongly developed. 
The sensitive* state of the mother is, at this crisis, peculiarly 
intensified. To illustrate, we will suppose a young and 
healthy woman marries at the usual time of life, and, in due 
time, becomes a mother. The child proves all that the 
fond parents desire, and its system shows no indications of 
organic derangement whatever. After this first delivery, 
the mother's health begins to decline. The second child is 
born. It is puny, and continues in a delicate state through 
youth ; and in manhood is stunted in body and cramped in 
intellect. The third is as well developed as the first ; but in 
after life is afflicted with some form of nervous derangement. 

*This increased sensitiveness of the female is sometimes taken advantage of 
. in the maltreatment of the pregnant female for the gratification of a malicious 
spirit. 



THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 39 

The fourth survives the periods of early life, but suffers from 
indigestion, and is a prey to nervous excitement. The fifth 
is still-born. After this, the mother's health being in an im- 
proved condition, she gives birth to the sixth child, which 
suffers with convulsive disorders in childhood, and in after 
life possesses a nervous excitability of temperament, which 
no regimen can palliate or remove. Finally, under a recov- 
ered state of health, she bears children that are of the type 
of the first born. Such conditions of the mother during the 
child-bearing period determine the destinies of her offspring. 
The prime cause of the normal and abnormal conditions of 
the members of the same family may be traced to like con- 
ditions of the mother's organism previous to, and during the 
time of, her different pregnancies. 

From the foregoing, and from what is known upon this 
subject, we may conclude, first, that the habitual psychical 
and physical state of both parents prior to, and at the time 
of conception, exercise a marked influence upon the general 
system of the offspring; second, that during the entire term 
of gestation, the foetus receives the material for its formative 
processes directly from the blood of the mother, and the in- 
tegrity of this fluid depends on the state of her own assim- 
ilative processes, digestion, secretion, and excretion, and 
that these are influenced by her own mental state. Hence, 
those slowly-enervating influences arising either from phys- 
ical derangement, or from unhappy conditions of life that 
disturb the mental state of the mother, also materially affect 
the general system of the offspring ; third, that an immediate 
and violent shock to the mental and nervous system of the 
mother will so affect her blood as to retard or pervert the 
developing processes of the foetus \ and when this occurs in 



40 THE HEALTHY INFANT.. 

the early months of pregnancy, there may be a malforma- 
tion effected in addition to the retarded development and 
nervous disorder, as was the case with the child in the in- 
stance of the bee-sting. 

From the foregoing, we discover the maternal influence 
upon the foetus to be constitutional in its effects, rather than 
productive of local deformities, called "mother's marks" 
Therefore, keeping this in view, we perceive the great im- 
portance to the female of a healthy state of body and mind 
at the time of conception and during the term of uterine 
gestation. This requires a proper observance of all the 
conditions upon which the preservation of this state depends. 
Among these may be mentioned associations, mental and 
physical exercise, food, and dress. 

OF ASSOCIATIONS. 

The necessity of the mother's amicable relation to her 
associates, especially to those of her household, has already 
been referred to in this part. In addition to this, I remark 
that her companions should be such as will help her to di- 
minish any deficiences which mar her happiness, and divert 
her attention from anything which would be detrimental to 
an even, healthy state of her mind and body. The mother 
herself should guard against those ill-tempered feelings and 
emotions which are sometimes excited by the pregnant state, 
and also remember the great difference between the placid and 
amiable disposition of the agreeable housewife, and the tur- 
bulent spirit of the house-brawler, who is the cause of much 
unhappiness. The statesman may also ask, with great pro- 
priety — Is she not also the remote cause of much na- 
tional discontent and disorder? To the former class of 



THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 41 

mothers we are to look for domestic happiness and national 
content. 

OF MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE. 

There are few persons who are not competent to devise 
a plan, or to execute one which is already devised; but to 
be able to devise, and then to execute, requires a combina- 
tion of faculties which few persons possess by nature, or 
have acquired by persevering industry. These faculties are 
named, respectively, the inventive and the constructive. In 
the combination of them resides the highest degree of men- 
tal and physical development ', and the loftiest grade of useful- 
ness. The cooperation of the two faculties is more than 
useful, inasmuch as it animates the mind and stimulates the 
bodily functions. Thus the individual receives a life-renew- 
ing impulse. The spirits are saved from sadness and gloom, 
and the system can more effectually resist the encroachments 
of disease. The joint exercise of the faculties of invention 
and construction lead to the cultivation of many pursuits of 
pleasure and of profit, such as the rearing of flowers, the 
domestication of animals, the cutting and making of dresses, 
and last, not least, the art vend practice of cookery — a thorough 
knowledge of which constitutes the highest and most useful 
accomplishment a woman can attain. The woman who occu- 
pies her time in this way, combined with a modicum of re- 
ligious and secular reading, is contented and happy, beau- 
tiful and useful in her home, however humble it may be; 
and her children will be born in those "circumstances" most 
favorable to the production of healthy constitutions, amiable 
dispositions, and the highest order of intellectual endow- 
ments. 



42 THE HEALTHY INFANT, 

OF THE FOOD. 

There is nothing of greater importance in conducting 
the female through the term of pregnancy than the due 
nourishment of her physical economy. This is of prime im- 
portance, not only to the mother's health, to her safe de- 
livery and good getting up, but also to the proper develop- 
ment of the foetus and its continued well-being in after life. 
So much depends upon the proper nourishment of the female 
through the term of pregnancy that she should, to some ex- 
tent, be informed of the physiology of digestion, absorption 
and assimilation. These can not be fully treated of here; 
but there are some particulars which can not be passed over, 
in justice to the aim of our work, and they are these : 

i st. The elaboration of matter for the remarkarble in- 
crease in size of the uterus, which takes place pari passu 
with the development of the foetus, and for the growth of 
the latter. 

2d. The elimination of the carbonaceous matter of the 
foetus through the mother's physical economy. 

3d. The imparting to the mother's blood of excremen- 
titious matter other than the carbon. 

1 st. When an organ ceases its secretive function, the 
remaining healthy organ will supply the deficiency to the 
economy by taking upon itself an increased activity in the 
performance of its function. This same law operates in the 
digestive organs when additional material is demanded for 
the construction of the new being. This gives rise to an in- 
creased appetite and a demand for a more liberal diet. 
Such is the case with the healthy female who maintains the 
demand, by a continuance of her daily physical exertions, 
for the accustomed amount of food to supply the waste of 



THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 4$ 

her own body, and whose organs continue in the daily per- 
formance of their functions. When a due relation between 
the appetite and the powers of digestion is maintained, 
through the term of pregnancy, there is a healthy state, but 
when, from any cause whatever, the healthy state of this 
relation is disturbed, evil results must ensue. One of these 
causes is found in the encumbered state of the mother, in 
the latter months of pregnancy, from the enlargement of 
the uterus and the heaviness of its contents. This prevents 
her from taking the accustomed exercise; consequently the 
demand for nourishment to supply the waste of her own 
economy is greatly diminished, and, if the appetite con- 
tinues unabated, its indulgence will result in derangement 
of the digestive organs, accompanied with heart-burn, 
nausea, flatulence, constipation and a sense of general full- 
ness. The ingesta is now imperfectly elaborated and the 
organism insufficiently nourished. From this state of the 
system arises a constant craving for food and confectionaries,. 
and the indulgence of the female in these excesses will in- 
crease the fullness to oppression, and if this is not relieved 
by art, nature will endeavor to do so by bleeding from one 
of the mucous membranes. This hemorrhage sometimes 
takes place from the uterus. In this event the life of the 
foetus is endangered by a premature birth, and the mother is. 
subjected to serious risk from flooding. It is true that the 
suppression of the menses contributes to the growth of the 
foetus, but the amount is small, not more than one pound of 
organized matter, while the foetus and the growth of the 
womb, and the formation of the placenta, will amount to 
fourteen pounds. Hence there will remain thirteen pounds 
of new growth to be provided for by the digestive organs of 
the mother in the short space of nine months. 



44 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

2d. The elimination of carbonaceous matter, afterbirth, 
takes place through the lungs, and is brought thither by the 
blood from every part of the body. It is different, however, 
with the fatus. Its lungs do not, as yet, perform their physi- 
ological functions. Its blood is diverted from them by 
arrangement, to the placenta, which may be called the fatal 
lung, as it performs a similar function. This organ is 
attached to the uterus by tufts, which permit the placental 
veins to bathe freely in the blood of the mother, as do the 
gills of fish in surrounding water. And according to the 
same law the excrementitious matter of fcetal blood is im- 
parted to the purer blood of the mother, and receives oxygen 
in return. The fcetal stomach, like its lungs, does not, as 
yet, perform its function ; hence the placenta is a substitute 
also for the alimentary canal as a means of supplying to the 
blood, nourishment for the foetus. The blood thus purified 
and laden with fresh stores returns to the foetus, circulates 
through its capillary system, deposits the necessary material 
for its growth, takes up the waste matter, and returns to 
the placenta with impurities to be again imparted to the 
blood of the mother. The carbon being the most important 
of these impurities, we particularly allude to it at present. 
The increased carbon in the blood renders the blood thick,* 

*The author was, upon one occasion, called to relieve the sufferings of a lady 
in the seventh month of her pregnancy, who was suffering with a derangement 
of the digestive organs, accompanied with a sense of fullness, as above described. 
There was a general pallor, attended with a sense of suffocation. It was appre- 
hended that the blood was too thick to circulate freely through the capillary system. 
As a means of relief a small quantity, a gill \ of thick, tarry blood was drawn from 
the arm, which, notwithstanding the smallness of the quantity, caused her to 
faint. A few days' abstinence from food, with opening medicines, the blood re- 
covered its natural fluid form, and the patient recovered to as comfortable a con- 
dition as could be expected for one in her condition, and after her confinement 
presented her husband with twins — two unusually large boys. 



THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 



45 



and gives it a tarry appearance. This increased consistency- 
retards circulation through the capillaries and prevents, in 
part, those metamorphic changes from taking place which 
are needful to the due nourishment of the economy. And 
finally, these result in derangement and disease which require 
medical treatment. The derangements thus produced are 
mainly those of the nervous system and of the digestive or- 
gans. The former, is in consequence of the nerve centers not 
receiving the necessary stimulus from the sluggish flow 
of the blood, and the latter, results from the deteriorated 
quality of the gastric, pancreatic, and biliary secretions, by 
which the digestive processes are more imperfectly per- 
formed. These conditions still further deteriorate the blood, 
and the economy is more inefficiently nourished. Under 
these circumstances, the free indulgence of a morbid appe- 
tite is like adding fuel to flame. 

But when the economy is invaded by a disturbing cause, 
we must not be unmindful of the fact that nature is ever 
upon the watch, ready to assert the supremacy of her laws; 
hence, she imposes upon the lungs an increased action in 
the performance of their function — as when one lung, or 
one kidney, compensates for the impaired utility of its fel- 
low. It occasionally happens, however, that she is not ad- 
equate to the emergencies of the case, and assistance must 
then be supplied by due attention to the diet, to the manner 
of dress, and by the institution of such medical treatment as 
the nature of the case may demand. 

3d. The presence of waste matters in the system is 
highly prejudicial to good health, and for this reason there 
is ample provision made for their elimination. The bowels, 
kidneys, lungs, and skin, discharge their respective secre- 



46 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

tions. By the obstruction of any of these organs, the 
secretion accumulates within the system, unless thrown off 
by some other organ. The skin and mucous membrane 
sometimes perform this adventitious function. There are 
agencies which excite an increased action of these mem- 
branes and cause them to eliminate an increased amount of 
animal matter. Of these agencies a heated and confined 
atmosphere is among the most efficient. Many persons 
have experienced the ill effects of inhaling the breath and 
effluvia from the bodies of others. These effects are not 
only due to the carbonic acid gas, but also to animal matter 
of which the effluvium is partly composed. The inhalation of 
carbonic acid gas produces a sense of suffocation ; whereas, 
the animal matter causes nausea and vomiting. The sick- 
ening odor arising from freshly-drawn blood is due to the 
animal matter. This fluid is used in sugar . refineries for 
clarifying sugar ; and when a fresh quantity is introduced 
into hot syrup, the animal effluvia is so offensive that the 
rooms are almost uninhabitable for several hours afterward. 
The exhalation from the human body is necessarily contam- 
inated with animal matter ; and that from each individual 
seems to possess properties peculiar to itself. This enables 
the dog to trace his master among the footsteps of many 
persons. The occurrence of scarlatina, measles, etc., among 
school-children and students at college, is due to the inter- 
mingling of these different matters, like salts of different 
metals, which, when their solutions are mixed, form precipi- 
tates of new compounds, differing in their physical and 
chemical properties from the original salts. 

The facts just cited respecting the effluvia from the 
adult organism equally apply to the foetus. All its glandular 



THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 47 

systems are actively producing their secretions. This is 
evidenced by the existence of bile and mucus in the 
bowels, urine in the bladder, and the sebaceous matter — 
vernix caseosa — which covers the body of the newly-born. 
The peculiar situation of the foetus renders it impossible for 
these secretions to be removed directly from the body of the 
foetus in like manner as after its birth ; hence there must be 
some other provision made for their removal, else foetal ex- 
istence would be of short duration, if it could exist at all. 
This provision is found, first, in the chemical composition of 
the foetal effete matters, as differing from those of the adult ; 
secondly, in their being in part taken up by the blood of the 
mother and eliminated through the emunctories of her econ- 
omy. These we will consider as : 

(a.) The alvine dejections. There is a marked difference 
in the physical and chemical constituents of the faeces of the 
foetus and that of the delivered body. The former is a 
blackish green, viscid, inodorous matter, composed of mucus 
secreted by the intestinal mucus membrane, mingled with 
bile, and is called meconium. It neither contains the animal 
matter excretions, nor does it possess other important char- 
acteristics which are peculiar to the latter. These the foetus 
imparts to the blood of the mother, and, when retained in 
her system, she is a fit subject for the reception of disease. 

(b) In consequence of the little practical importance 
of a knowledge of the physiological and pathological condi- 
tions of the urine of the foetus, it has not received the same 
attention from physiologists and chemists as that of the child 
or man. But it is shown that the constituents of the one 
are very different from those of the other. Urea, the nitro- 
genized compound which characterizes the urine of the 



48 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

delivered, does not exist in that of the foetus; but, instead 
of it, there are two nitrogenized compounds, allantoin and 
albumen, which do not belong to the healthy urine of the 
former. 

I cannot speak positively as to the character of the 
former of these substances, but regard it as strongly re- 
sembling the latter. It does not readily decompose, nor is it 
inimical to life, as is urea. Were it not for this provision 
against the formation of urea, foetal existence would be of 
short duration; its death would ensue from uraemic poisoning. 

(c.) The skin of the foetus also performs its function 
quite actively. This is evidenced by the quantity of sebaceous 
matter usually found upon the cutaneous surface of the newly- 
born infants. This is an oleaginous substance and is de- 
signed to lubricate the skin. The accumulation and retention 
of this lubricate are not inimical to the health of the foetus, 
hence its removal is not provided for, and there is time 
enough after birth, as a matter of cleanliness. In these pro- 
visions for the preservation of the foetus we discover marked 
indications of the conservatism of natural law and the work- 
ings of an omniscient Creator. It occasionally occurs in the 
latter months of pregnancy that the organs of the mother 
do not perform their eliminative functions sufficiently active 
when the effete matters of her own system, as well as those 
of the foetus, are permitted to accumulate in her blood. 
This accumulation will give rise to much inconvenience, 
which will demand prompt relief, as in the case already cited. 

OF DRESS. 

Of the conditions and necessities of the female which 
are essential to the well-being of the offspring there are none 



THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 49 

more important and more under the control of her own will 
than the manner in which she should wear her clothes. 
An improper manner of dressing is one of those things which has 
contributed largely to the perils of child-bearing, and has induced 
some authors to believe and teach that pregnancy and child- 
birth are pathological or diseased conditions of the female, 
and not physiological or healthy processes. This, however, 
is a mistake. Pregnancy and child-bearing are not diseases, 
nor do they partake of the nature of them. They are the 
means by w T hich the race is propagated, and, consequently, 
must be governed by natural and conservative laws which 
have regard to both mother and offspring. Were these con- 
ditions of the female pathological in character it would be a 
perversion of natural and conservative laws, whereby the 
end in view would be defeated, the world could never have 
been peopled; but, as it is, child-bearing is conducive to 
female longevity, and the world is peopled. Hence we 
may conclude that conception, pregnancy and child-bearing 
are the results of the generative organs when in the active per- 
formance of their physiological functions. 

If the pregnant female could only appreciate the 
reality of these facts, she would be relieved of those grave 
and unfounded apprehensions, which induce her to regard 
the issue of her anticipated confinement as more than 
doubtful. This appreciation would not only dispel her fears 
and anxieties, but also cause her to take a more rational 
view of her situation. It would make her happy and cheer- 
ful. She would endeavor to inform herself of the nature of 
those laws of child-bearing, that the manner of her living 
may be more in compliance with their demands. 

Although science and common sense have done much 
3 



50 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

in reforming the manner ot female dress, yet the natural 
laws of health are frequently violated by the vain endeavor 
to improve the forms which nature beautifies without any 
such assistance. The modern manner of dressing was not 
the means by which the ancient Greeks and Romans ac- 
quired their classic forms. It was by means which permit- 
ted free and easy movements of the joints and muscles. The 
axis of the spine was erect, with its natural and graceful 
curves; the shoulders were square, and the breast arched 
with a perfect symmetry. They permitted their muscles to 
develop. This gave them ease and grace of movement, as 
well as speedy action. It also gave them that rotundity of 
contour which is so beautiful to the eye. 

The contrasting of two drawings — one representing a 
well-formed female, with the various organs in their natural 
position, and the other representing one who has become de- 
formed, and the organs displaced by tight lacing, steel stays, 
and walking the Grecian-bend — would demonstrate so great 
a variety of evils, that a special chapter would be required 
for their elucidation. We will not, however, give the sub- 
ject so much space, but will mention a few of the most im- 
portant evils from this cause : First, undue pressure of the 
body is a prolific cause of determination of blood to the 
brain, and may be the exciting cause of disease of this or- 
gan; second, the action of the heart and blood-vessels is not 
so free and easy; third, the blood cannot flow sufficiently 
free through the capillaries, thereby preventing the nourish- 
ment and development of the parts; fourth, the respiratory 
organs are so compressed as to interfere with the breathing 
process — for this cause the female cannot take that degree of 
exercise which is essential to health; fifth, pressure upon 



THE FCETUS IN UTERUS. 5 1 

the mammary glands will either cause absorption or disease 
of the organs; sixth, pressure over the stomach and bowels 
will arrest the peristaltic movements, thereby causing imper- 
fect digestion and constipation of the bowels; seventh, the 
uterus will be forced down, making a case of prolapsus 
uteri. Walking the Grecian-bend greatly promotes this dis- 
placement by lessening the lumbar curve of the spine, which 
brings the pelvic plane more horizontal by taking away the 
support which the organ receives from the pelvic arch and 
abdominal walls. 

From a consideration of the foregoing evils, which re- 
sult from an improper mode of dressing, it would seem to 
be the dictates of true philosophy to avoid them, and act in 
strict compliance with the demands of the human body. 
There should not be those infringements upon the organism, 
which not only impair the health, but are also the remote 
cause of tardy and difficult labor. But philosophy, reason, 
common sense, good health, and the welfare of the off- 
spring, are all sacrificed to the modern usages imposed upon 
the female. She cannot, unaided, stem the tide of fanati- 
cism which deluges the fashionable world. She must be 
supported by father and brother, husband and son; and, by 
not discharging this duty, they become likewise responsible 
for the evils incurred. 

Except in instances involving right and wrong, decencies 
and indecencies, our ideas of elegance of dress and of beauty 
are matters of taste and of education. The Jew, the Greek 
and the Roman each had his ideas of elegance, and re- 
garded his own style of dress and of female beauty as 
superior to any other. In order to produce a successful 
revolution in any one of the usages of society, public opinion 



52 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

must be in its favor, and, as the mode of dressing is conven- 
tional, let that opinion approve of the manner of the ancients, 
who wore their garments by straps passing over the shoulders, 
and not with a cincture around the waist, which, with the 
weight of the garments suspended, compress the abdominal, 
the spinal and the thoracic muscles. The effect of this con- 
tinued pressure is the attenuation of these muscles, which 
deprives the female, to some extent, of their assistance in 
the expulsive effort of child-birth. The want of this 
assistance is often the cause of much inconvenience and 
suffering. 

Could a woman only know how absolutely ridiculous 
she appeared while making strenuous, and frequently pain- 
ful, efforts in the preparation of her dressing, and in distorting 
her body to some fashionable method of walking — as the 
Grecian-bend — to bring about the evils we have just enumer- 
ated, she would not be long in loosening her stays, and in as- 
suming the erect posture, as designed by nature. The follow- 
ing case of death from tight-lacing, with post mortem results, 
as reported in the Londo?i Lancet, will farther illustrate the 
evils which result from this pernicious practice, and also 
show that the foregoing is not a fancy sketch, but sad reality : 

"Jemima H , aged twenty (appeared to me to be twenty-four), 

servant, complained, on returning from an errand, of some headache 
and intense feeling of cold, about 2 P. M., on December 21st last. 
Her mistress desired her to lie down for the remaining part of the af- 
ternoon, but the headache still persisted, and she was permitted to 
retire to bed for the night. As she did not "put in an appearance" at 
her usual hour the following morning, the mistress went to her room 
for the purpose of inquiring the cause, when she found the pa- 
tient still dressed, as on the previous evening, lying on the bed, 
and quite incapable of being aroused. I was sent for at 7:30 



THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 53 

A. M., and found her insensible on the bed, with all her clothes 
on, dressed, her face pale, pupils widely dilated, breathing stertorous, 
and on trying to remove her clothing, the task proved to be so dif- 
ficult a one that I was obliged to cut it off. I then considered the 
symptoms (from the meagre and faulty history) due to congestion of 
the brain membranes, arising, probably, from the intense cold of the 
night, acting on a weak heart. Some diffusible stimulant was ordered, 
if it could be taken, and fly-blisters to the nape of the neck and ex- 
tremities. I then left. At 10 A. M., the hour of my second visit, the 
patient was wildly delirious, unrestrainable, and powerfully convulsed 
(clonic). At 2 P. M. I was informed, on again visiting her, she had 
died a short time previous, after a violent convulsive seizure, appa- 
rently exhausted. She was removed that night to the public mortu- 
ary, to await a coroner's order for post mortem examination. There 
was no history to the case, save the evidence of the mistress, given at 
the inquest, which went to prove that she had frequently, but una- 
vailingly, remonstrated with the girl for her persistent folly in lacing 
so tightly. 

" Autopsy (forty-two hours after death) : Weather intensely 
cold; air crispy, dry ; sky clear; recent snow-fall. Rigor mortis com- 
plete ; no marks of violence ; body indifferently nourished. I was at 
once struck with the nude configuration of the body, which was pe- 
culiar from the extraordinary amount of constriction at the loins, and 
the " squareness " of the shoulders, which were remarkably high for a 
delicately-formed female, the clavicles being horizontal, straight, 
transversely, the form of the upper part of the body being flat and 
triangular, the base being formed by the square shoulders, the apex 
resting on the pelvis, which projected considerably, and the sides per- 
fectly free from contour, and sharply defined. There was little pec- 
toral or mammal development ; the lower extremities were cedema- 
tous, and the whole appearance gave me the unpleasant impression 
of being pinched. On opening the chest, the lungs were found to fill 
the cavity completely ; the right lung was adherent throughout to the 
chest walls, and congested ; the left lung also congested. Pleural 
cavity contained some fluid, but there were no adhesions. The posi- 
tion of the diaphram corresponded to that of extreme expiration. 



54 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

Heart very small ; did not weigh more than four ounces, and flabby; 
structure pale and weak ; right ventricle distended with black fluid 
blood ; left valves healthy ; pericardium contained about three-quar- 
ters of an ounce of fluid. Abdomen contained over a pint of serum 
in peritoneal cavity. Liver enormously enlarged, congested and 
friable, the capsule readily tearing off ; it extended completely across 
the abdomen, overlapping the left margin of the spleen, to which it 
was firmly adherent, compressing the stomach, duodenum, transverse 
colon, and small intestines. I should think it did not weigh less than 
between sixty and sixty-five ounces; gall bladder, distended with 
bile, descending an inch below superior margin of liver. Stomach 
very small, not larger than an infant's ; walls hypertrophied ; rugae 
considerably enlarged, and contained some dark fluid, apparently cof- 
fee. Duodenum much thickened ; contained some bile and digested 
food, as did small intestines. Spleen and kidneys intensely congested 
and enlarged. Brain membranes intensely congested. I do not think 
I have ever seen them more so. The whole surface presented the ap- 
pearance of a blackened mass, almost unrecognizable. There was an 
apoplectic spot on the surface of the right hemisphere posteriorly, 
with some effusions of lymph. The brain substance was considerably 
softer than in health, and presented a "mottled" appearance on 
being cut into. No fluid in ventricles. Dark-colored fluid at base of 
brain. Sinuses engorged, as also vena galeni.* 

It is true this is an extreme case, and no argument is 
needed to show that the death, the displacement of the 
several organs and their diseased conditions, as demonstrated 
by the post mortem examination, were the effects of the 
assigned cause ; hence no comments are needed but to 
meet the anticipated response, "Oh! I do not lace so tight 
as that," forgetting that injury is done in proportion to the 
tightness of the lacing. For a perfectly healthy state of the 
organs they must not be compressed at all. 

*See July number of the London Lancet, 1871. The case is reported by W. 
H. Sheehy, L. R. C. P. Ed., etc. 



THE FCETUS IN UTERO. 55 

Keeping in view the dependence of the foetus upon 
the continued good health of the mother for its growth and 
development of a vigorous constitution, and that the pro- 
cesses of child-bearing are normal, and not abnormal, we 
now remark that it involves an increased activity, not only 
of the generative organs, but also of the vital organs of the 
mother's economy. This increased activity implies an iticreascd 
draft upon the capacity of these organs, and this increased draft 
implies an increased demand upon the vital forces ', and this in- 
creased demand implies an increased necessity for observing all the 
conditions and obeying all the laws essential to the maintenance 
of health. 

As the vital forces derive their stimulus from wholesome 
food, pure air, and exercise, the pregnant female must not, to 
the exclusion of these, be considered an invalid— to eat 
dainties, to lie supinely, and to breathe impure air, but let 
the usual course of life be continued without any sudden 
or radical change in her customs and habits. When any 
article of diet is found to produce unpleasant results let it 
be removed from the diet list. 

The mother may not only exercise herself within doors, 
but also in the open air, either by walking or riding in a 
carriage, avoiding jolting and jarring. The continuance of 
a walk, a ride, or of any other kind of exercise, so far as to 
produce fatigue, is frequently followed by serious conse- 
quences; therefore, she should not be subjected to fatiguing 
or exhausting efforts of either body or mind. The hour for 
exercising in the open air is to be determined by the 
climate, the location and the general health of the mother. 
As these are so varied, it is impossible to indicate one which 
would be alike appropriate in every instance; but the follow- 



56 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

ing will, to some extent, indicate the proper time for her 
walks and rides. Our space will not admit of a full history 
of the effects of cold upon the human economy ; but suffice 
to say that, when the mother is enjoying good health, exer- 
cise in a cold atmosphere for a short time will produce a 
temporary depression, followed by a healthy reaction and 
beneficial results ; whereas a prolonged exposure will pro- 
duce a continued depression, followed by an unhealthy reac- 
tion and grave results. Therefore she should not, during the 
cold seasons, exercise too freely in the open air, and not then 
in the mornings and in the evenings, but with proper wrap- 
pings and overshoes, let mid-day supply the desired hour. 

One of the most hurtful influences is miasm. This 
gaseous poison is generated from decomposing vegetable 
matter exposed to moisture and a due amount of solar heat. 
It is produced in such quantities in some localities as to en- 
title them to the appellation of miasmatic districts , from whence 
it is diffused through the air, and when it is inhaled into 
the lungs and absorbed by the skin, it causes miasmatic 
diseases, which are of the intermittent and congestive forms. 
As Spring is its favored season, and is accompanied by a 
damp atmosphere, the female should avoid the morning fogs 
and evening dews of the Spring months. 

Under ordinary circumstances the observance of all 
the conditions and laws upon which health depends is essen- 
tial to its maintenance. But the increased activity of the 
various organs consequent upon the pregnant state necessi- 
tates, as we have already seen, an increased vigilance in 
the observance of these conditions and laws. Habits 
of cleanliness, not only of the body and clothing, but also 
of the bed and of the apartments, should be strictly ob- 



THE FGETUS IN UTERO. 57 

served. By due attention to these, with well-ventilated 
rooms, the animal effluvia arising from the body and from 
the lungs are more readily dissipated, the body is in- 
vigorated, the mind is made cheerful and the spirits happy. 
In conclusion, we may observe that the ills of child-bed are 
not by any means necessary attendants. They are often 
the results of the mismanagement of the female, either dur- 
ing the term of pregnancy, in her delivery, or during the 
lying-in month. 



58. THE HEALTHY INFANT. 



PART III. 



MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 



The changes which the constitution undergoes in its 
transit through the periods of life, demand corresponding 
observances for the maintenance of health. It is, therefore, 
necessary to study the laws of health in relation to each of 
the periods of human existence. We have treated of the 
means by which an infant may be born with an organization 
capable of being developed into a healthy and vigorous con- 
stitution. The next topic is infantile existence. 

The treatment which the offspring meets with upon en- 
tering the world, depends upon the degree of intelligence 
and moral worth of the parents. With the unchristianized, 
it is the victim of the most revolting practices. The canni- 
bal will sacrifice his babe to his appetite. The inhabitants 
of India will sacrifice their babes to appease their gods. It 
was a practice among the Romans to leave it to the arbi- 
trary will of the father, whether his newly-born should sur- 
vive, or be left in the street to perish. The aim of the 
Spartans was to train it to be a soldier, and to this end they 



MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 59 

endeavored to make it capable of great endurance of heat, 
of cold, and of bodily affliction. Among their laws was 
one requiring parents to bring their babes to a place called 
Lesche, to be examined by the heads of the clans, or the 
most ancient men of the tribe, who, upon finding them of a 
feeble organization, or deformed, gave directions for their de- 
struction by throwing them into a cavern called Apothetce. 
If the infant was possessed of a good organization, and not 
deformed, it was returned to the parents, and orders issued 
for its education and for its reception of one of the nine 
thousand shares of land. The Christian is the highest 

ORDER OF NATION — THE CHRISTIAN IS THE HIGHEST ORDER 

of man. We therefore rear and educate our children to the 
highest purpose of man, and this requires thorough physi- 
cal, mental, and moral training. 

Birth is that act which terminates the intra-uterine life 
of the infant, and ushers it into an extra-uterine existence. 
This event places the infant in contact with very different 
surroundings. From within its closed matrix, from its im- 
mersion in water, from a higher and an even temperature, 
from a dormant state of the five senses, from inaction of 
several of the organs in the performance of their functions, 
a being is at once ushered into a dry atmosphere, to a lower 
and an uneven temperature, to an excited state of the five 
senses, and to action of several of the organs in the per- 
formance of their functions. Thus, its entrance into the 
world is marked with an organization which will enable it to 
maintain an independent existence. The various faculties 
are now to be exercised. The first impression of sound is 
to be made upon the ear, of light upon the eye, of touch 
upon the skin, of heat and of cold upon the cutaneous 



60 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

nerves, of food upon the palate, and of odors upon the 
olfactory nerves. Were it possible for an adult to undergo 
so sudden and so great a transition as this, it is possible that 
the shock would prove fatal to his life. If the fcetal brain 
were sufficiently developed to be conscious of the transition, 
the same result might be anticipated. Bat this was foreseen 
by the Creator, and hence the brain is only developed enough 
to be able to preside over the feeble fcetal organization. 

It is not so far developed in its newly-born state as to 
enable it to be conscious of its necessities. Instinctive de- 
sires, and reflex action of the nervous system, are the agen- 
cies by which its feeble vitality is manifested. They are also 
the agencies by which the organic functions are excited to ac- 
tion. In addition to the feebleness of the brain, the nerve tex- 
tures and the muscular and membraneous tissues are ex- 
tremely delicate, and the bones are soft and flexible. The 
infant, then, is not only unconscious of its necessities, but is 
physically incapable of supplying the least of its wants. It 
comes into the world as an object of our care. We are not 
only to supply the necessities of life, but we are to secure to 
it, at the time of its birth, those circumstances which are 
most compatible with its organization. The "little stranger" 
should, therefore, meet with those conditions that are as 
similar as possible to those of its former state of existence. 
The senses must not be subjected to marked impressions, but 
gradually become inured to the performance of their func- 
tions. The sense of touch is the first to be exercised. Although 
the vernix caseosa is some protection to the cutaneous nerves, 
yet the most delicate of textures with which it is possible for 
the infant to come in contact, is rough and harsh in compari- 
son with its former smooth and watery place of abode 



MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 6 1 

When the infant is handed to the nurse, it is usually received 
upon a shawl or blanket, regardless of the coarseness of tex- 
ture, or of the smoothness of the surface — as though any- 
thing would do to wrap the baby in. But instead of such 
rough textures, there should be provided a piece of new 
canton flannel, of sufficient size to envelop the babe. Even 
this is not sufficient to protect it from cold, and to keep it at 
an even temperature. The necessary additional wrappings 
will be determined by the season of the year and the tem- 
perature of the room. 

The mechanical impressions made upon the cutaneous 
nerves are of less importance, however, than those made by 
the coldness of an atmosphere of sixty or seventy degrees, 
compared with the higher and more even temperature of the 
womb. The atmosphere coming in contact with the body, 
and in close proximity to the blood by inhalation, along with 
the evaporation from the body, rapidly reduces the tempera- 
ture and depresses the vital forces. These degrees of tem- 
perature are higher than are usually met with by the newly- 
born; hence it is that there are more infants still-born in the 
colder than in the warmer seasons of the year. The feeble 
organization of the newly-born is incapable of maintaining 
the higher degrees of heat imparted by the mother's econ- 
omy, and its capacity is lessened by the fatigue of the labor, 
and the pressure to which the brain was subjected during 
the act of birth. Under these depressing influences, the 
infant cannot long survive its struggles for existence. The 
lower animals instinctively act upon these facts; and it is 
well to remark the wonderful care they exercise in protect- 
ing their young — not only from extreme cold, but from 
chilling influences. When young birds are removed from 



62 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

their nests, their temperature rapidly declines; and when 
the young of carnivorous animals are kept with the mother, 
they lose only about three degrees of heat; whereas, when 
they are removed from the parent, their temperature will 
fall several degrees lower. It is the result of daily observa- 
tion, that heat and its maintenance at an even temperature 
is not only essential to germination and reproduction in both 
the vegetable and animal kingdoms, but also to health de- 
velopment, and the prolonging of life. Notice the florist in 
his greenhouse — the care with which he nurses the tender 
plants. He has constant regard to the temperature of the 
nourishing air and water. Hence the thermometer and the 
fire when chilling winter, with his icy hand, brings the hoary 
frost. Then turn to the newly-born and helpless infants en- 
twining themselves around the parental heart, and observe — 
in consequence of their delicate organization — the easy sus- 
ceptibility to the effects of cold. We should then observe, 
with greater care, the temperature of our offspring, their 
surrounding atmosphere, their food, and their drink. 

From the inception of the prolific germ of the foetus 
until its maturity at birth, it is kept at ioo degrees 
temperature (Fahr). A variation of a few degrees below 
this point would retard its development, or blast its exist- 
ence. Then, taking nature as our guide, and knowing the 
normal temperature of our body to be ninety-eight degrees, 
let this temperature be maintained from the cradle to the 
grave. And as the debilitating influences of early life and 
of old age are inimical to the maintenance of the normal 
temperature, these must be compensated by additional cloth- 
ing, and avoiding exposure to cold. With barbarous cru- 
elty, some parents try to "harden" their infants and children 



MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 63 

to the endurance of cold — a cruel idea that hardens many 
children into the grave, or sows in them the seed of disease 
and early decay. 

When the vital forces are actively exercising themselves 
in a healthy and vigorously-constituted individual, during 
the middle periods of life, the power of resisting the conse- 
quences of exposure to cold is at its acme. From these pe- 
riods, it shades off to the extremes of life — infancy and old 
age. It is not exposure to cold, nor the power of resisting 
the consequences of such exposure, that makes a healthy 
and vigorous constitution; but it is the accumulated effects 
of successive exposures that enervate and ruin such a con- 
stitution. In proof of this, it is a well-known fact that, dur- 
ing the late war, those men whose avocations were seden- 
tary and in-doors, as clerks and students, after becoming 
somewhat inured to the hardships of the soldiers' life, made 
more efficient and enduring soldiers than those taken from 
such pursuits as exposed them to the inclemency of the 
weather — farmers, for instance. 

With infants and children, constitutions are not made, 
but are to be formed. If exposures are enervating and ruinous 
to constitutions already formed, how much more so are they 
to those that are in process of formation? In the young, 
they not only bring about the immediate and remote conse- 
quences that the adult incurs, but the constitutions in their 
formative processes are stunted; and those children, at ma- 
turity, will be mentally and physically dwarfed. Heat and its 
maintenance at a uniform temperature, are so essential to 
the development, growth, and preservation of health in the 
foetus, the infant, and the adult, that nature provides means 
for its evolution, and carefully regards the uniformity of its 



64 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

temperature. But the "all-wise" man, in his self-sufficiency, 
says to her, This is, and this is not. Hence, the exposures 
and variations from the degree of heat that nature, in her 
most emphatic manner, tells us must be maintained. It is 
true, that nature can accommodate herself to the vicissitudes 
of heat and cold to a limited extent — as by necessity; but 
when wantonly persisted in, evil consequences, either im- 
mediately or remotely, will most assuredly follow. 

It is of the highest importance that due attention should 
be paid to the senses of hearing and seeing. The first must 
be scrupulously guarded against excess of sounds, and the 
second against excess of light. These organs, especially the 
latter, easily become diseased by subjecting them to deep im- 
pressions. The babe should, therefore, not be taken to the 
window, or be exposed to the direct rays of a lamp or gas 
flame. This is too frequently done in order to exhibit the 
babe to visitors. Heat is, also, injurious to the eyes, hence 
the infant should not be exposed to the direct rays of a fire. 
These facts make it quite obvious, that the chamber should 
be kept quiet and dark. The two remaining senses are those 
of smell and taste. The infant should not inhale strong 
vapors. There is an instance recorded of an infant dying 
from the effects of inhaling the vapors of a lininent that was be- 
ing used in the room. The infant should not, therefore, be 
permitted to inhale strong vapors, as camphor, ammonia, 
alcohol, and cologne, neither offensive odors. For this rea- 
son, soiled napkins should be promptly removed; and there 
should be daily changes of clothing. The sense of taste 
should be gratified only by the mother's breast. 

Having disposed of the senses, we will now consider 
the instinctive desires, and reflex action of the nervous 



MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 65 

system. It is by these that the organism is excited to the 
exercise of its physiological functions, breathing, sucking, 
defecating, and urinating. To breathe is the first instinctive 
desire of the newly-born. There are several important 
conditions essential to perfect breathing. First, there must 
be a free supply of air, and it must be pure. An impure 
atmosphere is more deleterious to the young, than to those 
more advanced in age ; and when the newly-born is strug- 
gling for existence against the adverse circumstances attend- 
ing its birth, it is still more important that the air should be 
pure. It is at this time that the nerve centres require the 
stimulus of wholesome air, that the organism may not only be 
set in motion, but that it may continue in the healthy perform- 
ance of its functions. The importance of pure air in the 
lying-in chamber will be more apparent, when we consider 
the remarkable mortality which prevailed among the infants 
in the Dublin lying-in hospital ; and which ceased upon the 
adoption of Dr. Clark's suggestion, to ventilate the wards 

AND ADMIT FRESH AIR THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING. Prior 

to the adoption of this suggestion, and during the year 
seventeen hundred and eighty-two, there w T ere born in this 
institution, seven thousand, six hundred and fifty infants, of 

whom TWO THOUSAND, NINE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR 

perished in a manner similar to that of carbonic acid poison- 
ing, which will be described presently ; third, the expansion 
of the chest, and the admittance of the air into the lung- 
cells, completes that part of the breathing process, called 
inhalation. The inhaled air meets a supply of blood brought 
by the pulmonary artery from the heart into the lungs. 
The blood takes up the oxygen gas and throws off the 
the carbonic acid gas, which is exhaled through the bron- 
chial tubes — this process is called exhalation. 



66 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

In the event of the blood failing to obtain a passage to the 
lungs, the carbonic acid will not be exhaled or eliminated 
from the system, where it will acumulate and act as a 
narcotic poison to the brain; and fatal results will necessarily 
follow, unless the little sufferer finds speedy succor. The 
indications that manifest the failing of the blood to arrive in 
the lungs are as follow : First, there will be observed a 
slight purplish hue in the complexion, particularly about the 
nose, lips, and nails, attended with drowsiness and languor. 
The purplish hue will gradually deepen, and the drowsiness 
grow to unconsciousness, followed by convulsions at short 
intervals, with increasing duration, until they become one 
continuous convulsion, gradually fading away with the in- 
fant's waning strength — death closing the scene. To this, the 
writer has frequently been a painful witness, in consequence 
of his being called too late to render effective aid ; but he has 
seen these patients, by the institution of proper measures for 
their relief, drawn from death's tightest grasp. 

Let us inquire into the cause of this failing of the blood 
to arrive in the lungs, and the means of its relief. 

There are four cavities in the heart, two auricles and 
two ventricles.* The former are placed above the latter, 
with which they communicate by valvular openings. The 
auricles are separated by the auricular septum, and the 



J\ > o! \> 



30 



CO < 



R. A., right auricle; L. A., left auricle; R. V., right 
ventricle; L. V., left ventricle; A S.. auricular septum; V. 
S., ventricular septum; F. O., foramen ovale; V., valve. 
\The other valves show the direction — when the foramen 
ovale is closed by its valve after birth — in which the blood 
is to flow when both auricles simultaneously contract. 



MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 67 

ventricles, by the ventricular septum. The right auricle re- 
ceives the blood from the lungs ; and the left auricle receives 
the blood from the systemic circulation, when the blood is 
thus received by the auricles, they simultaneously contract, 
forcing the blood into their respective ventricles. The ventri- 
cles receive the blood; and by their contraction, force it in two 
directions. That from the right ventricle — passes into the 
left ventricle — passes, through the aorta, into the systemic 
or general circulation. This is not, however, the case be- 
fore birth. There is an opening in the auricular septum — 
foramen ovale — through which the blood passes from the right 
into the left auricle, as will be seen by the open valve, V, in 
auricular septum, as shown in the drawing, instead of the left 
ventricle, as above described. The opening ox foramen ovale 
is guarded by a valve upon the left side of the auricular sep- 
tum, so that when the auricles contract, the foramen is com- 
pletely closed, thereby, preventing the return of the blood 
into the right auricle, and thence into the right ventricle; 
but forces the blood into the left ventricle, so that when this 
ventricle contracts, the blood will be sent coursing through 
the systemic or general circulation, and not into the lungs, 
as the foetus can not, as yet, obtain an atmosphere to breathe. 
After birth, the valve over the foramen ovale must close and 
remain closed, that the blood may find its way into the right 
ventricle, and thence into the lungs. The non-performance 
of this act is the cause of the evil results above described. 
The only remedy is, to close this valve. This is accom- 
plished by placing the infant on its right side, with the head and 
shoulders well elevated.* In this position of the babe, a small 

^The author usually advises the nurse to keep the infant in this position for 
a few days, as a precautionary measure ; and, like advice he has tendered, upon 
other subjects, has been regarded only as a superstitious or foolish idea, like 
tying up a lock of hair on the crown of the head to keep the palate up, 



68 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

quantity of blood upon the upper surface of the valve will 
cause it to close and keep it closed. The want of this func- 
tional performance occurs within the first week; or, the 
valve may become detached. This, usually, occurs within 
the first month or two. The writer saw an occurrence of 
this kind in a child a year old ; and there are instances re- 
corded of this taking place in adult life ; but these are of 
rare occurrence. 

After birth, the respiratory function marks an indepen- 
dent existence, and introduces a new source of heat, which, 
in co-operation with other processes of the economy, main- 
tain the desired equilibrium. In consequence of the feeble 
exercise of the vital forces in the tender infant, the amount 
of heat from this new source is not sufficient with ordinary 
wrappings to protect it from chilling influences; but it 
should be so protected as to be beyond the possibility of 
becoming chilled. 

ABLUTION OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 

This should be accomplished by spreading the contents 
of an egg over the entire body, and then place the infant in 
a warm bath, where it should be well and quickly cleansed, 
particularly the eyes % Soap should not be used about the 
head and face, lest it should get into the eyes, to which 
cause grave cases of opthalmia have been traced. Then let 
it be quickly dried with a soft cloth, and dusted with a dry- 
ing powder, such as a mixture of three parts of well-powdered 
starch and one part of French chalk. The belly-band is 
now to be well adjusted, the infant to be dressed in soft 
flannel, and placed in the position as above directed, and on 
a bed — not in a chair, to perish by some kindly visitor sitting 



MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 69 

upon, as she may think, a little cushion. The infant will 
now repose for a few hours, or until the mother shall have 
had some refreshment from rest and food. The infant is 
now ready for its first meal. 

Inhuman is the mother who does not remember, with 
pleasing emotions, the first time she pressed the darling babe 
to her breast and felt its little mouth draw from her its nour- 
ishing fluid. Equally inhuman is she who is not saddened 
at the grievous moment when her babe "would not take the 
breast" but, by the unfeeling hand of death, passed from 
her. Thus it is that a benign Creator has made it incum- 
bent upon the mother to suckle her babe; and as the obli- 
gation of protecting the offspring begins with conception, so 
the obligation of the mother to suckle her babe begins with 
its birth. Of this end the Creator has not been unmindful, 
but has supplied another indication of his loving kindness 
— the neglect of which is not unlikely to be attended with 
just and severe retributive evils. 

The babe being now ready for its first meal, and the 
mother ready to serve it, they may both be placed in what 
may be called the nursing posture, i. e., the mother lying upon 
her left side, the babe upon its right, with its head and 
shoulders as highly elevated as is consistent with con- 
venience. The nipple is repeatedly placed in the infant's 
mouth until it " takes the breast." It draws therefrom a 
yellowish fluid, called colostrum, which is marked by charac- 
teristic effects upon the infant very different from those of 
the secretion when in its later stage. It is destined to meet 
certain exigencies, that neither milk nor any other substance 
can approximate in efficiency. And yet, we have daily 
manifestations of a disposition to turn aside from wisdom, 



70 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

resulting from experience and practical observation. The 
babe is thus victimized from the very hour of its birth, by 
extraneous feeding. And with what ? Cow's milk, mo- 
lasses, and fat bacon, are among the many pernicious things 
that find their way into the diet list of the newly-born ! This 
being only one of the crude ideas of hygienic management 
of the young, is it at all surprising that there should be so 
much sickness and mortality among infants and children ? 

Colostrum is a nutritious fluid, and eminently appro- 
priate to the necessities of the babe, until the "milk comes 17 
It is a bland, yellowish emulsion, that dilates the stomach 
and purges the bowels, without producing colic and griping 
pains. The discharges, at first, consists of a blackish-green 
mucous secretion, called meconium. Unless this be dis- 
charged, it will produce serious derangements that, in some 
cases, have proved fatal; and, the necessity of the bowels 
acting at an early period is well known to mothers and 
nurses. When the infant is deprived of the advantages of 
the colostrum which nature has provided, and is fed with 
other articles of diet, the bowels do not act so kindly and 
efficiently. This is especially the case when cow's milk is 
substituted for nature's provision ; and as it contains more 
cheese than mother's milk, which coagulates and clogs up 
the intestines, and throws the infant into convulsions ; and 
should it escape the convulsions, the infant must then be sub- 
jected to the effects of a dose of oil, which is almost, if not 
quite, enough to terminate its existence. 

The yellow granulated corpuscles of the colostrum, to 
which the peculiar color of the fluid is due, as well as to the 
sparsity of cheese and milk globules, begin to disappear on 
the second day, when the two latter constituents begin to 



MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 7 1 

increase in quantity. Thus, we have first, yellow milk, and 
then, white milk. The disappearance of the corpuscles is a 
very highly important circumstance; they have fulfilled their 
mission and must cease ; their continuance induces excessive 
purgation, which causes the body to waste away ; this affec- 
tion is known as colostration. Whenever such symptoms 
appear, the mother's milk should be examined with the 
microscope, and if the colostrum corpuscles should be found 
in the milk, the infant should at once be taken from her 
breast, and observe the directions for feeding the infant, 
given hereafter. 

Deep mental emotion agitating the nervous system, 
functional derangements of the digestive organs, and other 
circumstances, often cause the milk to be highly deleterious 
to the infant. A variety of disorders come from this source, 
and the mother is deprived of the pleasure of discharging 
one of the most important obligations due her offspring. 
Still more deplorable is it for the babe to have its mother 
wrapped in the winding sheets of death. These unfortu- 
nate circumstances render it necessary to feed the infant. 
But, with what ? 

The Apostle Paul manifested a high appreciation of the 
proper food of the young — " and are become such as have 
need of milk, and not of strong meat." The word strong 
may well be applied to milk, as well as meat, for as it is 
presented by nature in various species of animals, it differs 
in the strength of its various constituents to meet the neces- 
sities of the young of each species for which it was primarily 
intended. And we cannot feed the young of each species 
successfully wiih the milk of another, to do this, would be a 
violation of natural law, and the production of disastrous 



72 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

results. In the preparation of nourishment for the infant, 
let us imitate the beautiful workings of nature, by taking a 
half-pint of fresh milk of the cow, add half-pint water, and the 
cream of a second half-pint of milk, and sweeten with pure 
white sugar, and put it, while warm, into a bottle and cover 
with a gum nipple, we thus maintain the quantity of oily 
matter and sugar, and reduce the quantity of cheese 
to approximate the proportion contained in mother's 
milk. The colostrum corpuscles not being obtainable otherwise 
than by nature, the babe must not be deprived of their beni- 
ficial effects. Should the meconium not be prompt in pass- 
ing in sufficient quantity, half a grain of calomel repeated, if 
necessary, every five hours will be found the best course to 
pursue. 

Having disposed of the three most important and im- 
mediate necessities of the newly-born, we will consider some 
of the physiological changes that transpire in the mother 
during gestation, and those that present themselves after the 
birth of the babe. The unimpregnated womb is about as 
large as a medium sized pear, and somewhat like it in shape. 
It has very thick walls, as compared with the size of its 
cavity. When the creative power determines there shall be 
another living soul, nature applies herself with diligence and 
exactitude to the preparation of the uterine cavity for the 
reception of the primordial germ, which is to pass from the 
ovary through the fallopian tube. The germ is in the pre- 
pared matrix, where it very early begins to present the form 
of the parent in miniature. 

In the short space of nine months, the uterus increases 
to twelve inches in length, ten in breadth, and eight in thick- 
ness. While these rapid growths are not unattended with 



MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 73 

their requisite drafts, and disturbing effects upon the mothers 
economy, there are also evidences of provision being made 
for the nutrition of the foetus; and, also, prospectively, for 
the sustenance of the infant after birth. Hence, imme- 
diately following impregnation, and increase in the size of 
the uterus, there are two sets of physiological changes that 
manifest themselves. 

First. — The digestive processes of the mother begin to 
elaborate, and place in her blood the various elements of the 
requisite pabulum for the development and sustenance of the 
offspring. These consist of butter, albumen, cheese, earthy 
phosphates, and iron. When these constituents are in super- 
abundance, they are eliminated by some of the emunctories. 
For this reason, the urine of the pregnant female frequently 
contains albumen, the simples of all animal products ; also, 
a substance called kiestine, which, perhaps, is the inter- 
mediate state in the metamorphosis of albumen into cheese. 
The non-elimination of the surplus of these albuminous 
compounds from the system is among the causes of the ner- 
vous derangements and diseases that accompany pregnancy, 
or attend the female in her confinement. 

Second. — This set of physiological changes relate to the 
breasts. By these, the elaborated food is separated from the 
blood and given to the infant. To this end, they take upon 
themselves increased nutrition, which is shown by their 
increased size, firmness, enlarged veins, coloration of the 
areola, prominence of the nipples, and finally, a watery dis- 
charge upon drawing the breasts; the colostrum, described 
above as yellow milk, and very soon passes into white milk, 
which now requires special attention, 
4 



74 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

WHITE MILK. 

This is the food for the young of animals and of man. In 
the growth and development of the fabric, it supplies : 

a. The cheese or caseine. This substance is held in so- 
lution by the milk when fresh, and is distinguished from the 
other proteine compounds by its containing no phosphorus. 
In the construction of the soft parts, such as the skin, mus- 
cle, lung, liver, kidney, brain, and nerve, it supplies the 
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, which are the ulti- 
mate chemical constituents of these tissues. 

b. The frame-work to support and build the flesh upon 
is next to be considered. It consists of bone, which is 
formed of the phosphatic salts of lime, soda, potassa, and 
magnesia, held together by glue (bone glue), another one of 
the proteine compounds of animal matter. When there is an 
insufficient supply of these salts, the frame-work will be soft 
and flexible, producing a variety of deformitives. These 
salts are found in healthy, natural mother's milk in great 
abundance. 

c. We have already noticed the importance of heat in 
the developing processes, and in the maintenance of a healthy 
state of the human economy. To this end, there is a most 
ample provision found in mother's milk ; and consists in 
the sugar, one of the carbohydrates, a class of substances, 
which are found almost exclusively in the vegetable kingdom, 
and are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The 
nitrogen is omitted in this class, which is the distinction be- 
tween formative and respiratory food. Thus, we have a 
supply of carbon to unite with the oxygen brought by the 
air inhaled into the lungs, and of oxygen to unite with the 
carbon which may be set free in the changes which 
are constantly taking place throughout the entire body, 



MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 75 

by which heat is produced, the temperature of which is regu- 
lated by physiological forces to be hereafter considered. 

d. The brain and nerves find an ample supply of phos- 
phorus (in combination with the lime, soda, and potassa) in 
mothers' milk. This is an essential element in their con- 
struction, and for the full performance of their functions. 

e. All chemical and vital formative processes require 
water for the solution of the elementary constituents which 
enter into the formation of the newly developed substance, 
and for which purpose water is supplied by the milk. Thus, 
efficiently, wonderfully, and wisely, mother's milk meets all 
the requisites of the offspring. This fluid is supplied by 
the mammary glands of the mother; and the physiologist 
studies the many formations of tissue to which milk is 
so well adapted ; but the interesting glandular structures by 
which the milk is separated from the blood and conveyed to 
the infant, are equally attractive of his admiration. He can 
not but appreciate the importance of their continued healthy 
state to meet the performance of their secretive functions ; 
and the whole period of pregnancy, attended with a con- 
stantly increasing efflux of blood to these glands, is a pre- 
paratory stage to this end. God thus plainly shows that, the 
proper nutriment of the babe is its mother's milk. When 
the infant is nourished by other means than the breast, the 
nursing instincts are lost ; the breasts are imperfectly drawn, 
the congestion increases, the cheese coagulates within the 
ducts, mammary abcess follows, and, perhaps, a loss of the 
utility of the glands as a sad result. 

In the healthy and well-formed infant there is usually 
no difficulty in getting the bowels and the bladder to dis- 
charge their contents. Should, however, these organs fail 



76 THE HEALTHY INFAN1. 

to perform their functions in due time, the parts must be ex- 
amined for any malformation that might exist; and if there 
should be any discovered, the infant must be put into the 
hands of a competent surgeon. If the parts are found to 
be properly formed, then recourse must be had to remedial 
agents. 

The infant being born, and its immediate necessities 
supplied, its organism is so feeble through, at least, the first 
month as to cause it to spend almost the whole time in sleep 
— occasionally awaking to take its meals. This tendency to 
sleep is no more a special provision of nature for the infant 
than for the adult. The former sleeps for the want of strength 
of the vital forces to maintain the wakeful state; and the 
latter sleeps to restore the exhausted strength of the vital 
forces. Sleep is of the utmost importance to the infant, and 
should be duly managed. The position in which the infant 
should be placed during the hours of repose until it is, at 
least, a week old, has already been described. After this 
time, the babe may be placed on its back or either side. 
The objection to the former is, that the spittle is apt to 
trickle into the air passages and strangle the infant. It is 
advisable to change the position occasionally, as the babe 
has not the strength to relieve itself of an uncomfortable or 
even a painful posture, and of the cause and manner of re- 
lief it is even unconscious. The infant should sleep with 
the mother; but much care should be exercised in regard to 
its relation to her and the bedding. The weight of the cov- 
ering should not be such as to press heavily upon the infant; 
neither should it be permitted to slip down under the bed- 
clothes in such a manner as to cause it to inhale an atmos- 
phere contaminated with the effluvia from the body of the 



MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 77 

mother. More than this, the infant is liable to be smoth- 
ered, instances of which have frequently occurred. After 
die first month, the infant may, in hot seasons of the 
year, sleep in the cradle, both night and day; but in cold 
weather the babe should, invariably, be the bed-companion 
of the mother. The cradle is a convenient piece of furni- 
ture, and, notwithstanding the opposition it meets with, it 
still retains its place in the nursery. When the babe is laid 
upon the bed, it is apt to roll off, or garments are apt to be 
thrown upon, and either injure or smother it; or, if it 
sleeps upon a lounge, it is liable to be sat upon by some 
careless visitor. The infant is secured against these accidents 
by placing it in a cradle or crib. In addition to this, by the 
portability of the crib, the babe can be placed in any con- 
venient place in the room. In cold weather, it should be 
near the fire, and never in a current of air, or near a win- 
dow or door, where the cold air will fall upon the sleeper. 
When the sheets are wet with urine, the nurse must not 
content herself by drying them, but they should be changed; 
and this rule should be observed in regard to the napkins 
and skirts of the infant ; and in making these changes, the 
newly-washed should be exposed to the fire, that perfect 
dryness may be insured. By the observance of this rule, 
the babe will never be put to bed with damp wrappings, 
thus avoiding this cause of disease. In the early periods of 
infancy, after feeding, the babe will fall into a state of re- 
pose ; whereas, when older, it will be necessary to "put the 
babe to sleep." Some people, to avoid the loss of time and 
trouble, place the infant in a cradle, and tell it, ' ' Now go to 
sleep." This seems harsh and unmotherly, and is not the 
treatment the infant expects to receive from the parent. But 



J 8 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

rather let the sleep steal over the closing eyes under the in- 
fluence of a lullaby song. 

It is not sufficient for the infant to sleep, but the char- 
acter of the sleep is of much importance. It should be 
calm and sweet, otherwise, it cannot be refreshing, or effective 
in the development of the vital forces. The sleep must be 
profound and undisturbed, consequently, there should be no 
confusion in the nursery. The necessity of sleep makes it 
important that it should be attended with those conditions, 
which favor its continuance, until the wakeful state ensues 
from natural causes ; and never be put to sleep unless it is 
naturally sleepy. The infant is occasionally victimized to the 
convenience of the mother, or nurse, by the administration 
of an opiate, which is criminally wrong ; and another great 
wrong, is to awake the infant to be bathed and dressed, at 
the convenience of the mother. Light, being inimical to 
profound sleep, should be excluded. It is better to accom- 
plish this exclusion by use of the window curtains or shut- 
ters, than by surrounding the crib with curtains, which 
deprives the babe of the advantages of a free circulating 
atmosphere. Through the smallness of the stomach and the 
feebleness of the digestive organs, the infant cannot receive 
and digest the quantity of food necessary to sustain the 
organism through eight successive hours of sleep. The sleep 
will, therefore, cease, the respiratory muscles will become 
exhausted, and the infant becoming uncomfortable, will 
awaken hungry, and eagerly seek the mother's breast. 
Infants differ, however; some will sleep all night, awaking 
only early in the morning to take their meal, while others, 
again, will require the breast two to four times during the 
night; much of this depends upon habit. If the infant 



MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWLY-BORN. 



79 



sleep much through the day, it will be more wakeful during 
the night; and if not put to bed until it is quite wearied and 
sleepy, and retires with a full meal, the sleep will be pro- 
longed, profound, and refreshing. 



So THE HEALTHY INFANT, 



PART IV. 



INFANCY. 



At about the end of the first month, the impressions 
that have been made upon the senses will have disclosed in 
the infant the possession of those faculties with which it 
enters upon its life-time of discoveries. It will gradually- 
become familiar with those who administer to its daily wants, 
with surrounding objects, and with the sound of the language 
it is to speak. The transition of the organism, through the 
organic changes peculiar to this period of life, is not only- 
interesting, but a knowledge of them is highly important to 
the better understanding of the proper management of the 
babe. It is also interesting to observe, that while the infant 
is undergoing the organic changes consequent upon devel- 
opment, its constitution is becoming adapted and moulded 
to the manner of its future life. The formative processes of 
the bones and of the soft tissues, in addition to the demands 
made by the usual waste of the general economy, requires 



INFANCY. 8 1 

a liberal supply of nutriment. Hence it is, that every part 
of the infant's economy is more freely supplied with blood 
than that of the adult. The pulsation of the heart is more 
frequent, it being one hundred and twenty-five to one hun- 
dred and thirty per minute. The skin is soft, tender, and 
sensitive. The head is proportionately larger, as is also the 
liver. The digestive organs feebly perform their functions, 
and the mucous membrane of the alimentary canal is quite 
sensitive — so much so that convulsions are easily induced 
by the presence of indigestible matter within the stomach or 
bowels. It is, perhaps, for the more perfect protection of 
this sensitive membrane that there is a thick coating of mu- 
cous spread over its surface in such manner as to give the 
appearance of a false membrane. The discharge of this 
mucous takes place, occasionally, in such quantities as will 
excite a suspicion of a diseased condition of the bowels, and 
the infant is placed under treatment for the supposed dis- 
ease, when, in fact, the symptom is nothing more than one 
of nature's sanitary measures. 

During the term of pregnancy, the foetus is in such a 
compressed state, that those muscles which flex or draw up 
the limbs, and double the body upon itself, are in a constant 
state of contraction ; and those which extend the limbs, and 
support the body in an erect posture, are necessarily drawn 
out to their full length. This relation of the flexor and ex- 
tensor muscles obtains during our sleeping hours, especially 
after much physical exertion during the day, when the ex- 
tensor muscles gradually relax, and the flexor muscles 
slowly contract, like a piece of gum-elastic when slightly 
drawn out and then laid upon a table; this slow contraction 
is occasionally attended with a spasmodic action, by which 



82 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

the sleeper is started, and sometimes awakened from his 
slumbers; and when we arise from our night's repose, we 
must flandiculate or stretch, in order to restore the equipoise 
of these two sets of muscles. This uneven state of the mus- 
cles is persistent long after birth, and exercise is necessary 
to equipoise them, so that the infant can extend the arm, as 
in reaching forth for an object; to extend the leg, as in 
walking ; and to keep the body erect, as in standing. 

By proper management, the muscular system will be 
sufficiently equipoised and developed, at the expiration of 
twelve months, to enable the babe to walk, and to present 
a beautiful and graceful figure; whereas, if improperly 
managed, the infant will be sluggish in its movements, and 
present an ungraceful appearance — if not absolutely de- 
formed. In the early months of infancy, the exercise must 
necessarily be passive, and this will be afforded by the 
handling to which the infant is subjected in its nursings, 
dressings, and ablutions, as well as by the voluntary move- 
ments of its extremities. 

It is highly important that the babe should be handled 
with the utmost gentleness and care. The necessity of this 
is made more patent by an appreciation of the feebleness of 
its organism. The bones are soft, loosely and feebly con- 
nected with each other. The muscles are too small and 
feeble to support the head and to keep the spine erect. It 
is through the feebleness of the muscles that the infant's 
head falls helplessly upon its shoulders, and that the spine 
curves upon itself unless otherwise supported. For these 
reasons, it is highly reprehensible to toss or throw the infant 
up and down or dandle it upon the knee. Infants are oc- 
casionally subjected to such violent treatment, either to 



INFANCY. S3 

amuse them or to quiet their cries — when it is neither amus- 
ing nor any relief to their sufferings. On the contrary, it 
augments their sufferings, and may become the exciting 
cause of disease and deformities. Instead of such rough 
handling — the carrying of the infant constantly in the arms 
of the nurse, whereby its extremities are restricted in their 
movements — common sense would dictate the cradle or the 
floor as the place, and its clothing being so arranged as to 
permit free motion of its extremities. It is by the instinctive 
throwing about of its arms and legs that its muscles become 
evenly developed. 

Infants delight in the open air and sunshine, in riding 
in the baby carriage, drawn over a smooth pathway; while 
the inhalation of fresh air, the warmth of genial sun- 
beams, the change of scenery combined with exercise, add 
greatly to the healthy development of both body and 
mind. Therefore, the infant should be taken into the 
open air as often as the state of the weather will admit — re- 
membering, however, that exposure to an atmosphere of low 
temperature, without sufficient wrappings, will bring about 
catarrhal fever, bronchitis, and pneumonia; and that exposure 
to a damp atmosphere is an efficient cause of rheumatic affec- 
tions. These diseases are also brought about by exposure 
to draughts of wind, and those draughts or currents are 
formed by the streets. Thus it is that the idle habit of 
"standing on the corner" is productive of " bad colds " 
When the nurse takes the babe into the streets for an airing, 
she should be instructed not to stand on the corner, and to 
keep on the lee side of the buildings. In complying with 
these instructions, the infant may be saved from sickness, 
and perhaps death. However, when the weather is inclem- 



84 THE HEALTHY INFANT, 

ent, it is far better that the babe should be within doors. It 
is quite refreshing to the babe to be taken from one apart- 
ment to another, and to be shown objects it has not recently 
seen. When taken in the arms of another, the nurse or at- 
tendant should enforce the proper manner in which it should 
be carried. The infant should be carried alternately upon 
each arm, that the pressure may be equalized, and thereby 
preventing any deformity that might arise from this cause : as, 
when the babe is carried constantly upon the same arm, one 
side would grow, and the other be stunted. Because of the 
softness of the spine, the body of the infant must be sup- 
ported by the shoulder and hands, while the extremities are 
left unrestrained. 

The infant should not be permitted to bear its entire 
weight upon its legs until it is at least nine or ten months 
old. At this age, it will begin to climb up by a chair, then 
to stand alone, and then to walk. The infant will occasion- 
ally get a fall, and a little fright, by which it will learn there 
is danger in falling. Without the trials and mishaps of early 
life, the child would grow up timid and irresolute. Infants 
who are not afforded nurses are more resolute and self-reliant, 
and require less attention, than those who are constantly 
under the supervision of an attendant. 

Of the many processes of infantile development, that 
of dentition brings with it the greatest anxiety, because of 
its painfulness, and of the danger of its becoming the excit- 
ing cause of grave complications and general derangements 
of the whole economy. There are none that should invite 
our closer attention, and lead us to more careful provision 
against its perils. Dentition is a normal process, and is 
governed by natural laws; hence, well-developed and healthy 



INFANCY. 85 

infants, and those free from hereditary diseases, will pass its 
periods with little inconvenience or suffering. But those of 
feeble organizations, and those affected by hereditary ail- 
ments are apt, through teething, to fall victims to disease. 
It is both interesting and important to know the history of 
teeth formation; but only an outline of the process is al- 
lowed by the limits of this work. At the sixth and seventh 
week of intra-uterine existence, the mucous membrane of 
the jaw-bone forms a groove along the edge of the maxillary 
arch, where the teeth are to appear. A papilla for each 
tooth is then formed in this groove, which is called the pa- 
pillary stage. The groove is developed into a follicle, which 
finally closes the papillae. This is the second, or follicular, 
stage. The papillae begin to grow quite rapidly. At about 
the thirteenth week they become pulpy, and receive the 
forms of the future teeth. At the fifth month of foetal ex- 
istence, the dentine begins to form upon the pulp of the 
teeth, preparatory to the 

ERUPTION OF THE DECIDUOUS, TEMPORARY, OR MILK 
TEETH. 

These are twenty in number, of which eight are in- 
cisors , four canine, and eight molars. The incisors are so 
named from their presenting a sharp edge for cutting the 
food, and situated in front of the mouth, four in each jaw, 
two central, and two lateral. The canine teeth, from cam's, a 
dog, are also called cuspidati, from cuspido, to point or make 
sharp at the end. There are two in each jaw, one placed 
behind each lateral incisor. Those in the upper jaw are 
commonly called eye-teeth, and those in the lower jaw, stomach 
teeth. The molars, or grinders, so called from the Latin 



&6 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

mola, a mill, number four in each jaw, two being placed be- 
hind each of the canine teeth. These are distinguished as 
the first and second, or anterior and posterior molars. 

DENTITION. 

Dentitio (the breeding or cutting of teeth), begins and 
proceeds in the following order, viz. : 

Sixth to seventh month, central incisors. 

Seventh to tenth month, lateral incisors. 

Twelfth to fourteenth month, anterior molars. 

Fourteenth to twentieth month, canine. 

Eighteenth to thirty-sixth month, posterior molars. 

Instances of great deviations from the above periods of 
eruption occasionally occur. When there is a premature de- 
velopment of the bones, dentition will also take place ear- 
lier than usual; while, on the other hand, in cases of slow- 
ness of bone formation, dentition is apt to meet with a cor- 
responding delay. When these latter conditions obtain, es- 
pecially when associated with a puny or an unhealthy state, 
the infant should be placed under treatment. In such cases, 
the administration of the hypophosphates is of great ad- 
vantage. 

The deciduous or temporary teeth subserve the purpose 
of mastication until the sixth or seventh year, by which time 
the roots are absorbed by the pressure of the permanent 
teeth, which now begin to develop, and become complete 
about the twentieth year. The process of eruption of the 
deciduous teeth is divisible into two stages, viz. : 

The first consists in an expansion of the capsule 
and its pressing against the gum, which gives rise to 



INFANCY. 87 

an unpleasant or itching sensation, and relief is obtained 
by counter -pressure, or rubbing the gum. Hence, the 
babe will, almost constantly, have its fingers in its mouth, 
and will carry there everything it can grasp, with a view 
of relieving itself of the uneasiness. The irritation will 
extend to other parts of the mouth, and the effect upon 
the salivary glands is manifested by an increased flow 
of saliva, which, heretofore, was quite inconsiderable. As 
the expansion of the capsule progresses, the irritation will 
extend to other parts, until the general economy is affected. 
The infant now becomes restless. It will cry at one mo- 
ment, and laugh the next. These two expressions of oppo- 
site emotions will become so intermingled that it will often 
be difficult to distinguish between them. Twitchings and 
wakefulness disturb the sleep. The appetite becomes im- 
paired, and the bowels relaxed. The infant is much relieved 
of these disturbances by incising the gum, although the 
tooth may not appear above the gum for several weeks. 
This stage terminates by a cessation of all indications of 
teething, and the constitutional disturbances will lull for a 
month or six weeks, to be again excited by the 

Second stage: This commences by the renewal of the 
above symptoms in a more aggravated form. The tooth 
now rises out of the capsule, and pierces the strong fibrous 
tissue of the gum, which becomes much harder, and under 
the lancet imparts a sensation similar to that of cutting sole- 
leather. The arrest of the circulation in the gum from the 
pressure of the tooth, gives the gum a blanched appear- 
ance, and this, combined with its hardness, makes the gum 
have somewhat the appearance of true cartilage. When the 
tooth is well advanced, the gum becomes relaxed, the cir- 



88 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

culation returns, a red spot forms at the place where the 
tooth is to appear, and then the gums become swollen and 
tender. Relief is no longer obtained by pressure, or by 
rubbing the gum; on the contrary, such treatment is quite 
painful; hence, the babe will not put its fingers into the 
mouth, nor permit the gums to be touched. The irritability 
increases; the babe will take its toys and immediately throw 
them aside. Even the breast is only taken to be rejected. 
Neither is the babe quiet in any position in which it may be 
placed. There is a constant irritable fretfulness, which is 
extremely wearying to the attendant. Although such is the 
ordinary course of a well-marked case of teething, yet cases 
occur in which every degree of inconvenience and suffering 
is experienced, from those who pass through the stages, with- 
out attracting the attention of the parents or attendants un- 
til the tooth is discovered to be through the gum — to those 
who succumb to the complications of difficult dentition. 
There is also a difference in the degree of suffering conse- 
quent upon the eruption of the several teeth. The central 
incisors are quite easy in their eruption, while the lateral in- 
cisors occasion more suffering, and the molars rather less 
than the latter. The canine are usually attended with the 
greatest difficulty, and their process of eruption during 
the hot months is the cause of the infant suffering through 
its second summer. 

The most natural inquiry that arises in the mind of the 
parent is: Are there any means by which the sufferings and 
perils of dentition may be averted? Happily, observation, 
experience, and science reply : There are, and they may be 
employed with much efficacy. A happy issue out of the 
teething periods is much dependent upon the quality of the 



INFANCY. 89 

food the infant eats, of the air it breathes, and the manner 
of its dressing, previous to the beginning of the eruptive 
processes. 

OF THE FOOD. 

The natural source of nourishment for the newly-born 
has already been considered — the mother's breasts. And 
there is no kind of food which is so well adapted to the 
wants of the constitution, and none so agreeable to the taste 
of the infant, until the appearance of the deciduous teeth, 
as mother's milk. These two facts become more patent 
when it is considered that the peculiarities of the constitu- 
tion and of the blood of the mother are transmitted to the 
infant, by which a natural correlation is established between 
the mother and her offspring, which is strengthened by habit 
and co-adaptation, to a degree that cannot obtain between 
the babe and another woman. Thus, in compliance with 
physiological law, as well as natural love and regard for the 
welfare of the offspring, it not only becomes the duty of the 
mother to suckle her babe, but also to supply a sufficient 
quantity of good milk. And in order that this end may be 
attained, the mother must be instructed as to the regimen 
best suited to the nursing female. This information, how- 
ever, would be of little advantage to the infant, unless the 
mother should cheerfully comply with all that the regimen 
may demand. 

Reference has already been made to the several con- 
stituents of a normal secretion from the mammary glands of 
the nursing female, and the part they perform in the nutri- 
tive processes of the offspring. But a knowledge of their 
physical and chemical properties is not only essential to the 



90 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

proper management of the mother through the nursing pe- 
riod ; but also for the proper treatment of the babe. When 
the milk is fresh from the mother's breast, it is a white, 
opaque, sweet, and slightly alkaline fluid, consisting of water, 
holding in solution salines, sugar, and caseine, with a quan- 
tity of oleaginous matter, and butter suspended in an emul- 
sified or milk-like form; and when taken into the infant's stom- 
ach, it is easy of digestion and highly nutritious, without dis- 
turbing the economy by nausea and vomiting, purging and 
griping pains. Its efficacy as a nutriment for the babe cannot 
be equalled by any other fluid or article of diet that art can 
produce. The salines consist of phosphate of iron, soda, 
lime, potassa, and magnesia, with a trace of chloride of so- 
dium and of potassium. The salines are derived from the 
blood of the mother, and are nearly identical with the salts 
of that fluid; and as the quantity is proportionally greater 
in the milk, springs and wells should, therefore, supply the 
nursing mother with the water by which she slakes her 
thirst, and not cisterns, into which water is gathered from 
eaves-drippings; for such water does not contain those salts 
which, as we have seen, is so essential to \hs young. So long 
as the milk retains its alkaline reaction, the caseine is held 
in solution; but when the milk becomes sour, the caseine is 
precipitated. This change in the milk necessarily takes 
place in the stomach, as the first step in the digestive pro- 
cess; and when the infant has taken large quantities of 
milk into its stomach, or when the digestive organs have be- 
come enfeebled from some irritating cause, such as teething, 
flakes of coagulated cheese will appear in the ejections; 
whereupon, the anxious mother unnecessarily has the babe 
treated for diseased bowels. The proper course, however. 



INFANCY. 91 

is to let the babe alone, unless there should be some general 
disturbance. Then the babe should be restrained from 
nursing too freely; and should the disturbance continue, an 
aperient, such as half a grain of calomel, or a teaspoonful 
of spiced syrup of rhubarb, should be administered. The 
caseine of mother's milk is not so readily precipitated upon 
the addition of acids as that of cow's milk; from which it 
may be inferred that the former is more soluble than the 
latter. This difference between the two kinds of caseine is 
in favor of mother's milk, and strongly supports the opinion 
of its better adaptation to the digestive organs of the infant 
than the milk of the cow. 

The milk-globules consist of a peculiar fatty substance, 
known as butter, and is composed of glycerine, united with 
various acids, which form butyrate, capronate, caprate, and 
oleate of glycerine. The first of these is the one to which the 
odor of butter is due. Milk sugar, found only in animal 
milk, supplies the babe with the carbon which, in its con- 
version into carbonic acid by the inhaled oxygen of the air, 
aids in producing and maintaining the necessary temperature 
of the body. We have already seen that the milk which is 
secreted immediately after delivery, is widely different, both 
in its properties and in its constituents, from that which is 
secreted a few days after the birth of the infant. This alter- 
ation in the properties and in the constituents of the milk, is 
attended with a gradual increase of the salines and of the 
caseine, to meet the increased demands of the infant. These 
two constituents continue to increase until about the second 
month, after which time any change in their proportional 
quantities will depend upon the diet of the mother, and the 
state of her health. The oil-globules attain to their niaxi- 



92 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

mum quantity within the first month. After this time, the 
relative proportion of milk-globules will depend upon the 
quantity of fatty matter which enters into the mother's diet. 
It also appears from analysis that the sugar attains to its 
maximum quantity within the first month, and that each suc- 
ceeding month, until the sixth, the milk has less and less 
sugar. 

It is of the highest degree of importance to the healthy 
development of the infant, for the milk to be secreted in 
sufficient quantity and of good quality. As regards the first 
of these, the quantity secreted in a given length of time 
cannot be definitely ascertained, because the infant can 
draw a larger quantity of milk from the breast than can be 
drawn with fingers or a breast-pump. A knowledge of the 
exact amount of milk secreted in a given length of time is, 
however, of little practical importance, inasmuch as infants 
differ in the amount of food required for their sustenance 
and growth; and the quantity for the nourishment of the in- 
fant also depends upon the exact degree of the richness of 
the milk in its various constituents. Therefore, the question 
is not, How much milk is secreted? but rather, Does the 
babe obtain a sufficient amount of nourishment from the 
mother's breast? As the infant cannot express itself vocally, 
we must learn to interpret the manner of expression peculiar 
to them; and there is nothing which will elicit from an infant 
stronger manifestations of displeasure than an insufficient 
supply of milk to fill its stomach, for the infant does not 
crave the breast so much to satisfy hunger, as to fill the 
stomach ; and when it accomplishes this, it is quite satisfied; 
and when this organ is emptied, either by the digestive pro- 
cess, or by regurgitation, it will again demand the breast 



INFANCY. 



93 



And when the quantity of milk obtained is insufficient to 
fill the stomach, the infant will fret at the breast; and it now 
becomes a difficult task, indeed, to divert its mind from the 
partially-filled stomach. How differently it will behave when 
the supply is adequate to its wants ! It will quit its meal 
fully satisfied, and will fall asleep, or return to its amusing 
frolics, without exhausting the supply in the breast. 

We will consider only a few of the causes of a dimin- 
ished flow of the secretion. Cases in which the breasts are 
insufficiently developed are of rare occurrence. But when 
this occurs, we then have an example of the promptness 
with which nature responds to calls when made upon her, 
for when the infant is put to the breasts, they will increase 
in size until they are sufficient to secrete the quantity of milk 
adequate to the wants of the infant. The excitement of 
the nutritive nerves of the mammary glands, caused by the 
infant sucking the nipple, is not only helpful to their farther 
development, but it is also the most potent means of inducing 
a flow of the secretion. Even men have been enabled to act 
as wet-nurses, by the frequent application of the infant to the 
breasts. An opposite condition is sometimes met with — in 
enlargement of the glands. This enlargement of the glands 
may be due to an increase in size of the glandular structure 
itself, or to an accumulation of fat about it. This deposi- 
tion of fat presents no impediment to the act of nursing, 
nor to the infant obtaining an adequate quantity of milk. 
The nipple is sometimes so contracted as to prevent the in- 
fant from grasping it with the mouth. Such contracted nip- 
ples can be drawn out with a breast-pump, a nipple-glass, or 
by taking a vial with a mouth sufficiently large, immerse it 
in boiling water for a few moments, and then, when empty 



94 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

and the rim of the mouth is cooled a little, by dipping in 
cold water, apply to the nipple and press a small wet cloth 
over the vial, which, upon cooling, will draw the nipple out 
sufficiently for the infant to draw. The author has fre- 
quently resorted to this little expedient with perfect success. 
A more painful and annoying complication of the breast, is 
an inflammatory action, terminating in mam?nary abscess. 
While this complication is met with in any period in the 
course of lactation, it most usually occurs shortly after the 
"milk comes" or when the caseine and milk globules appear 
in increased quantity. There is no disease more tractable 
than mammery abscess in the lying-in female ; provided the 
treatment be commenced sufficiently early, properly con- 
ducted, and, above all, the patient be properly nursed. Among 
the most efficient remedies for this affection is, fluid ext. 
poke. Twenty drops to be given every three hours until 
relief is obtained. The writer has had many occasions to be 
grateful for an agent so efficient as this one article. 

In further consideration of the mammary glands, we 
find there are conditions of other organs of the economy, 
which lessen the quantity of the secretion ; but a full ac- 
count of them would be too extensive for our present pur- 
pose. Among the most important, however, are the follow- 
ing, viz. : Intense and often repeated mental emotion, 
acute inflammatory disease, dyspepsia, pregnancy, and a re- 
turn of the menstrual discharge, and issues of whatever 
kind. All these will affect the quantity and quality of the 
milk, and in a sad degree disqualifies the mother to act as a 
nurse for her babe. 

Agalaxy. This word implies either, a deficiency sup- 
ply, or an absence of the milk; and a galactagogue, is 



INFANCY. 95 

a medicine, or an agent, by which the glands are excited 
to the performance of their secreting function. The 
application of the infant to the breast has already been 
mentioned as a potent means of inducing a flow of 
milk.* M. Becquerel used electricity as a gozlactagogue ; 
and succeeded in restoring the secretion after a total 
suspension in one of the glands, while there was but little 
remaining in the other. The inhabitants of Cape de Verde 
Islands, highly esteem the castor oil plant for this purpose. 
The plant is used by making a strong decoction of the leaves, 
with which the breasts are bathed for a short time, and then 
some of the leaves are laid upon the breasts, and permitted 
to remain until they become dry. It is said, there are two 
varieties of this plant: viz. — white and red. The natives use 
the former, and regard the latter as possessing no galacta- 
gogue milk-producing virtues whatever. 

The milk as supplied by the mother's breasts may be 
sufficient in quantity, to fill the stomach of the nursling ; and 
) r et, be insufficient to nourish the general economy, and then 
the infant is said — "not to thrive at the breast," So long as the 
nourishing fluid is sufficient to meet the immediate necessities 
of the infant, i. e., to fill its stomach, it will no longer ex- 
press itself in the manner as above described, although 
the milk may be deficient in its inherent properties, and the 
infant suffering the consequences. The effects of this latter 
condition of the milk upon the infant will be such as are pro- 
duced by a slow process of inanition or starvation. These 
effects will steal so slowly upon the little sufferer as to pass 
unnoticed until the more marked results ensue, such as 
extreme emaciation, diarrhoea, or an eruption upon the 
cutaneous surface. 

*See Braithwait Retrosp. Part 36. 



$6 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

And for these supposed acute diseases, the mother 
obtains professional advice; whereupon the case is learnedly 
named and classified, and the poor sufferer is victimized 
to dosings of cod-liver oil with whiskey, astringents, alter- 
atives, and tonics; whilst the true nature and cause of the 
afflictions are wholly lost sight of by both mother and 
physician, and the infant dies. 

Under this slow process of starvation, the brain does 
not receive its due stimulus, and the nervous system is not 
sustained. The subject, therefore, becomes less animate and 
displays less energy in its frolics. The sleep becomes less 
refreshing and more disturbed. The fat now ceases to in- 
crease in quantity, and then begins to be absorbed to supply 
the deficiency of combustive material in the nourishing fluid 
obtained from the mother. Anorexia or loss of appetite 
sets in. The organs cease to perform, with due regularity, 
their daily functions. The effete matters, which, as we have 
already seen, are incompatible with a continued healthy state 
of the economy, now remain in the system, and there supply 
the pabulum for the virulent growth of pestiferous diseases. 
This is graphically presented in the following quotation : 

"A deficiency of food, especially of the nitrogenous part, quickly 
leads to the breaking up of the animal frame. Plague, pestilence, and 
famine are associated in the public mind, and the records of every 
country show how closely they are related. The medical history of 
Ireland is remarkable for the illustrations of how much mischief may 
be occasioned by a general deficiency of food. Always the habitat 
of fever, it every now and then becomes the very hot-bed of its propa- 
gation and development. Let there be but a small failure in the usually 
imperfect supply of food, and the lurking seeds of pestilence are ready 
to burst into frightful activity. The famine of the present century is 
but a too forcible illustration of this. It fostered epidemics which 
had not been witnessed in this generation, and gave rise to scenes of 



INFANCY. / 97 

devastation and misery which are not surpassed by the most appalling 
epidemics of the Middle Ages. The principal form of the scourge 
was known as the contagious famine fever (typhus), and it spread, not 
merely from end to end of the country in which it had originated, but, 
breaking through all boundaries, it crossed the ocean, and made itself 
painfully manifest in localities where it was previously unknown. 
Thousands fell under the virulence of its action, for wheresoever it 
came, it struck down a seventh of the people, and of those whom it 
attacked, one out of nine perished. Even those who escaped the fatal 
influence of it were left the miserable victims of scurvy and low fever. 
Another example not less striking, of the terrible consequences of 
what may be truly called famine, was the condition of our troops 
during the early part of their sojourn in the Crimea, in 1854. With 
only just enough of food to maintain the integrity of the system at a 
time of repose, and at ordinary temperatures, they were called upon to 
make large muscular exertions, and to sustain the warmth of the sys- 
tem, in the midst of severe cold."* 

The whole matter of feeding the offspring should be en- 
trusted to the mother, who should be qualified by the posses- 
sion of a thorough knowledge of all the practical details of 
feeding the young, and to be able to quickly apprehend 
whatever may go amiss. Such a mother will, when it be- 
comes necessary to have professional advice, be able to place 
before the physician such facts as will lead him to a correct 
diagnosis of the case and to such treatment as will bring 
about a cure. The author has met with such women, and 
they were, in the true sense of the word, mothers. 

There is scarcely a circumstance in the affairs of in- 
fantile existence that affords more serious grounds of regret 
than that the infant should be deprived of its mother's breasts 
as its source of nourishment. And this becomes a matter of 
greater moment when we consider the imperfectly developed 

*See Aitken, Science and Practice 0/ Medicine, vol. 1, p. 737. 

5 



98 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

state of those glands which supply the secretions which are 
essential to the conversion of food into chyme, and then into 
chyle ; and then the absorbents are not yet capable of per- 
forming their function in a vigorous manner. Take, for in- 
stance, the salivary glands. The secretions from these 
organs are of the highest importance in the digestion of 
certain substances, for which purpose it flows freely into 
the mouth and is mixed with the food during mastication. 
Whereas, with the infant, as we have already seen, the 
mouth is quite dry until the eruptive process begins, when 
the irritation caused by the coming teeth excites a flow 
of saliva preparatory to the digestion of food stronger than 
milk. And if we were to continue our investigations of the 
secretions of all the digestive organs of the infant as we have 
that of the salivary glands, we^ would not be long in arriving 
at the conclusion that we might as well expect a rich harvest 
from seed sown upon a sandy plain, as to expect the infant to 
thrive when fed upon food so unsuited to the physiology of 
its organism. Such articles of food consist of soups, pap, 
panada and gruel, made of water, flour, oat meal, corn-meal 
and molasses, which require for their digestion, the powers 
of the adult organism. What results then may we expect to 
accrue to the infant from such unnatural feedings, other than 
gastric irritation, diarrhoea, enlargement of the mesenteric 
glands, hepatic derangements, emaciation, jaundice, con- 
vulsions, and death? Doubtless there are mothers and nurses 
who will regard all this as the product of a fertile imagina- 
tion ; but when we review the practical results obtained from 
the efforts that have been made to "bring up children by hand" 
we find the above to be an appalling reality. 

In institutions provided for the benefit of foundlings, 



INFANCY. 99 

and where it is imposible to provide wet nurses for such great 
numbers of these little dependents, the death rate resulting 
from this one cause only, viz.: the unfitness of the food to the 
manner in which the digestive organs perform their functions in 
early life — kill from forty to ninety in one hundred of 
those suffering infants. Is not this alarming ? Do we not 
learn from this a lesson sufficient to keep mothers and nurses 
from cramming their infants with vile amylaceous (or starchy) 
compounds, under the false idea that mother's milk, als>ne, is 
insufficient to sustain and to nourish the infantile organism? 

It is true, that, in the rural districts, where the infant 
obtains a pure atmosphere, wholesome waters from springs 
and wells, pure fresh milk supplied at all times by the same 
cow, and the undivided attention of the mother or nurse, 
the mortality among children reared by hand is much less than 
among those who dwell in cities and especially in asylums. 
However great these advantages may be, all observers and 
authors are agreed as touching this one point, viz. : the rearing 
of infants by hand is attended with great risk to the health, 
and life itself, of the infant ; and for these reasons should be 
conducted with the utmost care, attention and precaution. 

We have already considered the necessity of providing 
for the unfortunate infant an article of food, possessing, as 
nearly as possible, all the properties belonging to mother's 
milk j and that this is obtained by mixing a quantity of cow's 
milk with its bulk of water, and the richness of cream main- 
tained by the addition of that which is taken from a like 
quantity of milk, and the sweetness, by the addition of pure, 
white sugar. Let it be remembered, that the caseine of cow's 
milk is not so soluble as that of mother's milk, and as car- 
bonate of soda exercises the power of promoting the solu- 



IOO THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

bility of caseine, therefore, a trace of this substance may, 
with great propriety, be added to the fluid. After the food is 
thus prepared, let it be warmed and then put in a con- 
veniently sized bottle that is absolutely clean and dried in the 
sun or heated by the fire, and when covered with a gum nip- 
ple it is ready to be given to the infant, who, if healthy and in 
good condition as regards all the circumstances which con- 
stitute comfort, will eagerly seize the bottle and carry the 
nipple to its mouth, and relish a hearty meal. And let this be 
repeated as often as the infant asks for its meals iu the lan- 
guage which the mother or nurse so soon learns. The 
healthy infant should be the sole judge as to the quantity to 
be taken at a meal, and that will be when its stomach is full. 

Now, this whole proceeding seems, to many mothers, 
to be quite simple, in fact, so much so, that they will entrust 
the preparation of the food, and the feeding of their off- 
spring to a careless, slip-shod servant woman, or even to a 
little girl employed in the family as a nurse. Were it possible 
for all the dead infants to arise from their graves, and tell the 
world what had been the prime cause of their death, the 
number of those who would point to the careless manner in 
which their food had been prepared, and the condition of 
their nursing bottles, would be appalling ! astounding ! ! over- 
whelming ! ! ! Therefore, mothers, do not let your infants perish 
for the lack of your personal care and supervision. For this is 
a duty that Nature's God imperatively imposes upon you. 

The importance of exercising great care, and of taking 
the utmost precaution in feeding the young, are of such 
moment as to demand special notice. 

In the preparation of the food, as above described, the 
first step is to obtain fresh cow's milk, and at all times sup- 



INTANCY. IOI 

plied by the same cow. The mother must, if possible, and 
of her own knowledge, know these to be the real conditions 
of the milk. It is of equal importance for her to know that the 
milk has been properly handled. All the vessels, and strain- 
ers into, and through which the milk is to pass, should be ab- 
solutely free from the slightest trace of old milk adhering to 
any part of the vessels. This degree of cleanliness can be 
obtained, only by having a number of vessels sufficient to 
admit of daily changes, and after a thorough scalding and 
washing, let them lie a day exposed to the sun aud air. 
The water should be obtained from a spring or well, that the 
quantity of earthy salts may be maintained in the food, 
whereas, if soft water is used, it is quite obvious that the 
proportion of these salts would be reduced to just one-half 
the quantity that nature has designed to be sufficient to sup- 
ply the necessities of the offspring. There should be only a 
small quantity of the food prepared at one time. Three or 
more druggists' prescription vials of four or six ounces ca- 
pacity, with a like number of gum nipples should be obtained, 
and kept constantly at hand. And the same constant care 
should be exercised in regard to the cleanliness of the nurs- 
ing bottles and nipples as is bestowed upon the milk-vessels. 
As gum-tubes can not be cleansed and aired so readily 
and perfectly, let thern be expunged from the nursery as you 
would poison, for doubtless they have been the prime cause 
of the death of many infants; and for this reason, their use in 
feeding children can not be condemned in language too strong. 
When indications of teething begin to appear, the saliva 
increases with the advancing teeth until the flow is quite free, 
which is an indication that the organism is approaching that 
stage of development preparatory to the digestion of food 



102 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

other than milk. If, however, the infant is thriving on the 
"nursing-bottle" or at the breast, let well enough alone; but 
if in connection with the beginning of the teething process, 
and the increased flow of saliva, there should be any indi- 
cations of the infant becoming dissatisfied with its food, or 
of its getting into a bad condition, it would be expedient to 
introduce a change of diet. The milk may now be less di- 
luted with water, or, thickened with arrow-root. Liebig's soup 
is represented, by those who have had experience in its use, 
as being admirably suited to the wants of the infant, and is 
made as follows : — 

Take of wheat flour and dried malt, each, one-half 
ounce; bicarb, potassa, seven and one-half grains; water, 
one ounce; mix, and add milk, five ounces. Put the vessel 
on a fire, and, with constant stirring, heat slowly until the 
mixture begins to thicken; then the vessel is to be removed 
from the fire, and the stirring continued for ten minutes. 
This process is to be repeated the second time. The mix- 
ture will become still thicker; and the third time, place the 
vessel upon the fire, and let the mixture come to a boil. 
The bran of the malt is now to. be separated by passing the 
fluid through a fine sieve. The soup is now ready for use. 

Concentrated milk is a most excellent article of diet for 
the infant, and the author is happy to say that he has found 
marked beneficial results from its use in many instances. 

Carrot pap is recommended by Dr. Grumprecht, of 
Hamburg, and is prepared by mixing one ounce of finely- 
grated, full-grown carrots with two cupfuls of water, and let 
stand for twelve hours, frequently stirring in the meantime._ 



INFANCY. 103 

It is now to be strained, and the residue compressed, that 
the juice may also be obtained. To the fluid thus obtained 
is to be added finely-powdered biscuit, crackers, or farina, 
that a pap may be made, and then placed on a slow fire, 
and heated short of the boiling point, that the albumen may 
not be coagulated. Sweeten with pure white sugar, and it 
is ready for use. It is advised not to use the carrot pap if 
there is any tendency to diarrhoea. 

Another method of preparing the pap is, to take one 
ounce of grated yellow carrot, and two drachms of pow- 
dered biscuit, with two cupfuls of soft water. Mix and let 
stand in a cool place for twelve hours; then strain, add a 
little salt, and sweeten with sugar-candy. Warm the pap, 
and let the infant take its meal from the nursing -bottle. 

The author has found the following preparation to agree 
well with the infant, and also useful as a curative in diar- 
rhoea: 

Take a teacupful of dry flour, and tie it up closely in 
a cloth or rag, and then boil constantly for two consecutive 
hours, at the end of this time, the flour will have been formed 
into a ball (the centre of which will be hard and dry), which 
is to be grated into a powder, sweetened, and mixed with 
milk to the consistency of gruel when it is ready for use. 

Water that is cool, not absolutely cold, is as necessary, 
as much desired, and as agreeable to the infant as to those 
who are more matured, especially during the teething pro- 
cesses when the gums are irritated, and the mouth hot and 
feverish. 

Wet nurses are sometimes obtained to supply the mother's 
place to the unfortunate infant, but it is almost impossible to 
to find one, just at the time she is wanted, who will suitably 



104 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

fill all the necessary conditions, as these are numerous; and 
the attempt to comply with them all, opens up so many 
avenues to deception, that, even those who are most skilled 
in the selection of such a nurse are easily imposed upon. 
But, if it is determined to employ a wet nurse, let it be re- 
membered that the milk changes, as we have already seen, in 
both its qualities and properties with the increasing age of 
the infant, therefore, it is one of the essential conditions that 
the nurse should be the mother of an infant that is of the 
same age as the one deprived of its own mother's breast. If 
this condition is not complied with, evil, rather than bene- 
ficial results, will ensue. A newly-born infant, if nursed by 
a mother whose babe is several months old, is likely to be- 
come scrofulous. The nurse, and the mother whose place 
she is to supply, should be of the same build and tempera- 
ment; as the babe of a short, heavy-set woman, will not 
thrive at the breast of a tall, spare woman ; and the reverse 
of this is also true. It is quite easy to be deceived in re- 
gard to the quantity and quality of the milk. If the infant 
of the nurse is in a thriving condition, it is evidence that the 
milk is of sufficient quantity, and of a quality that agrees 
with her own babe; but when she takes another infant to 
her breast, it does not necessarily follow that these condi- 
tions of the milk will continue to be adequate to the neces- 
sities of both infants ; on the contrary, the milk may become 
deteriorated in quality, while it increases in quantity, and 
neither of the infants will thrive so well as the nurse's 
own did, before taking the second one to her breast. Under 
these circumstances, the nurse will naturally, in a grad- 
ual and an unconscious manner, be led to favor her own 
babe. The one will seem to thrive, while the effect of this 



INFANCY. 105 

slow process of starvation on the other, will be attributed to 
other causes, for the nurse, honestly thinking, but egre- 
giously mistaken, declares her impartial treatment of the two 
infants. These effects will gather upon the little sufferer, 
and hurry it off to its final resting-place before the parents are 
aware of the perils which surround their offspring. It is 
scarcely necessary to observe that the nurse should be a 
healthy woman. And this is not, at all times, an easy mat- 
ter to determine, as disease, either hereditary or acquired, 
may exist in the blood in a latent form, or the history of the 
nurse may be so imperfect, or lacking altogether, as to de- 
ceive those who are most expert in such examinations. 
Therefore, the only method of securing the infant from be- 
coming infected, is not to employ a wet-nurse. The bosom 
should be full, round, and plump, with not the least sore 
about the nipple. 

It is of the utmost importance that the nurse should be 
kind, gentle, quiet, willing, and subservient in the discharge 
of all her duties, honest and faithful in all of her trusts. It 
is only by a certainty that the nurse possesses these qualities 
that the infant is saved from the effects of many hurtful and 
deceptive irregularities of the nursery. She should be free 
from the habit of flying into fits of passion and outbursts of 
temper, as these conditions of the mind exercise very de- 
leterious effects upon the blood, and, consequently, the 
nourishing fluid. The following instance constitutes a 
marked illustration of the effects of passion upon the milk 
and the consequent results to the offspring, mentioned by 
the physican to the king of Saxony, in his work previously 
referred to: 

11 A carpenter fell into a quarrel with a soldier, billeted in his 
house, and was set upon by the latter with his drawn sword. The 



106 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

wife of the carpenter at first trembled with fear and terror, and then 
threw herself furiously between the combatants, wrested the sword 
from the soldier's hand, broke it in pieces, and threw it away. Dur- 
ing the tumult some neighbors came in and separated the men. 
While in this state of strong excitement, the mother took up her child 
from the cradle, where it lay playing, and in the most perfect health, 
never having had a moment's illness, she gave it the breast, and in 
so doing sealed its fate. In a few minutes the infant left off sucking, 
became restless, panted, and sank dead on Us viother's bosom. The 
physician, who was instantly called in, found the infant lying in the 
cradle as if asleep, and with its features undisturbed ; but all his re* 
sources were fruitless. It was irrecoverably gone."* 

This, although an extreme case, should be a warning to 
those mothers and nurses who indulge in outbursts of pas- 
sion, for such conduct will surely bring evil to the offspring. 

OF THE AIR THE INFANT BREATHES. 

The absolute necessity of the infant breathing a pure 
atmosphere has been duly considered, and clearly shown by 
the success which attended the adoption of Dr. Clarke's sug- 
gestion to ventilate the wards and admit pure air through- 
out the building of the Dubfai Lying-in Hospital. 
■ of the clothing. 

In clothing the body, we have two objects in view : first, 
to conceal nakedness; second, to maintain that degree of 
temperature which is normal to a healthy state of the economy. 
In attaining the first of these, care is to be taken that the 
garments are so constructed and adjusted to the body as not 
to prevent the free movements of the extremities, the move- 
ments of the chest- walls in breathing, or to interfere with the 
circulation of the blood. The second object is to be consid- 
ered in determining the kind of material of which the gar- 
ments are to be made, and the amount of clothing with which 

*See Combe on Infancy. 



INFANCY. I07 

the infant is to be clad. The necessity of duly regarding the 
temperature of the young is rendered more manifest, when 
we consider : first, that the normal temperature of the infant 
is somewhat higher than that of the adult. It is this fact 
that causes the nurse to exclaim : i 6 Why, how hot the baby 
is ! A baby is as hot as an oven." Second, the smallness of 
the quantity of blood, and the thinness of the tissues which 
intervene between the blood and the atmosphere afford less 
protection against chilling influences. From these circum- 
stances, the infant will, when exposed to a low temperature, 
become chilled much sooner than the adult. As is the case 
with water, a drop exposed to a low temperature will freeze 
immediately, whereas a large body will require a much 
lower temperature, and a longer period of time to accomplish 
its consolidation. Many infants are annually lost for the want 
of a strict attention to these facts, and although fashion and 
custom are blindly followed, and, with procrustean cruelty, 
rigidly adhered to, instead of being adapted to the wants of 
the infant, mothers wonder why their children do not thrive! 
" Certainly, says Dr. Meigs, I have reason to think that 
thousands of lives are annually sacrificed to mere fashion in 
dress, whether of those that are born in hot, or those that 
come into the world in the cold seasons." This immense sac- 
rifice of human life can easily be arrested by supplying the 
necessities of the infant, instead of using it as a toy to dis- 
play a foolish, extravagant expenditure of money, in order to 
gratify a morbid taste in dress. 

It is impossible to indicate the quantity of clothing the 
infant should wear, because the several latitudes vary so 
widely in degrees of temperature, as well as in the seasons 
of the year, and of the extent of comfort supplied by the 
house in which the infant may dwell. These circumstances, 



Io8 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

when duly considered in connection with the degree of tem- 
perature normal to infantile life, will be the best guides as 
to the amount of clothing the infant should wear. The or- 
ganization of the adult, as we have already seen, is not so 
easily impressed by the changes of temperature as that of 
the infant; hence, the nurse cannot determine, by her ^wn 
feelings, as to the warmth of the infant, but must examine 
by touch, and observe every manifestation of cold, and 
clothe the infant according to its necessities. The head 
should be left bare, except when taken out of doors; then a 
hood, cap, or bonnet, should be used to protect the head 
from the sun, wind, or cold; and these will determine the 
character of the head-covering. Experience has taught us 
it is best for the infant to wear a flannel or woolen skirt 
through the first two years, as the changes of temperature 
in the infant take place too suddenly when it is exposed f> a 
higher or lower degree of temperature. When the infart 
has arrived at the hot days of its third summer, the flannel 
may be replaced by lighter garments, as the continuance of 
the flannel skirt would become oppressive. 

OF WEANING. 

Many evils of dentition may be averted by strict atten- 
tion to the time and manner of weaning the infant. When 
the incisors are through, which, as we have seen at page 8*, 
is during the tenth month, the infant should be allowed iood, 
in very small quantities and at long intervals, other than 
mother's milk. Such feeding is not only harmless, but 
is actually demanded by the workings of nature in the 
infant. Early feedings may consist of bread boiled in 
milk, with a pinch of salt added, a roasted potato mixed 



INFANCY. I09 

with gravy, chicken broth, soft-boiled eggs, rice pudding, 
arrow-root boiled in water with an addition of milk. Such 
feeding may be continued until the appearance of the ante- 
rior molars, which takes place from the twelfth to the four- 
teenth month, when a stronger diet may be introduced by 
way of meats and vegetables. If these are found to 
agree with the infant, its hunger will be appeased with a 
dietary that is more agreeable to its taste and compat- 
ible with its organism, and the withdrawal of the breast 
becomes an easy matter. It must be observed that this is to 
be done in the fall, winter, or early spring, and never during 
the hot months. 

The infant who is blessed, by having all these conditions 
fully and properly filled, will pass through the teething pro- 
cess with but little trouble, whereas, the one who has not 
been so fortunately circumstanced, will suffer more or less 
severely, if not removed by death. 



IIO THE HEALTHY INFANT. 



PART V. 



THE INFANT IN SICKNESS. 



However healthy and free from hereditary taints the par- 
ents may be, and healthy and vigorous the infant may come 
into the world, and actively its organs may perform their func- 
tions, the healthy infant is liable to be overtaken by sickness 
or disease. And when this unfortunate circumstance occurs, 
it then becomes necessary to provide means for the 
comfort and restoration of the infant to a state of health. To 
supply it with those things which are essential to its comfort, 
is the duty of the mother, or nurse, and constitutes nursing; 
whereas the means of restoration consists in the medica- 
tion or treatment of the case, and this is the duty of the 
medical attendant. 

When the infant is discovered to be ailing, the first duty 
of the nurse is to provide a chamber suitable for a "sick-room." 
There are several circumstances which add materially to the 
fitness of the chamber for the habitation of the sick. Its 



THE INFANT IN SICKNESS. Ill 

location on the second or third floor will secure a purer at- 
mosphere, and a better circulation of air throughout the 
room, than if situated on the first floor of the building. The 
air should be admitted in such a manner that it will not fall 
upon the patient, when the bed is placed near a window, and 
the sash lowered from above. Neither should the patient be 
placed in a draft, as between two open windows. 

A circumstance that is in the highest degree essential 
to the welfare of the infant in sickness, is quietude, that the 
nervous system may be tranquil and the sleep refreshing. 
These will render the medicines prompt and efficient in their 
action upon the system, and, therefore, a chamber should be 
selected in which the stillness is undisturbed by noise from 
any cause whatever, such as a busy street. In conducting 
the household affairs, the ringing of the door-bell, the tread 
of footsteps in the hall, and the constant inquiries in regard 
to the condition of the patient, should be avoided. 

The maintenance in cold weather of a uniform temper- 
ature throughout the room, is a matter of the utmost im- 
portance, and the author has met with more than one in- 
stance in which he was forced to ascribe the cause of the 
illness and death of his patient to a lack of uniformity in the 
temperature of the apartment which the infant occupied. The 
lack of a uniformity in the temperature of the chamber may 
be due either to the very high ceiling, badly-fitting doors or 
window-sash, the construction of the chimney, or the setting 
of the grate. A chamber so imperfectly warmed will be un- 
comfortable as we go towards, or farther from, the fire; "one 
side will burn, and the other freeze." Such rooms are 
wholly unfit to be inhabited by either the young or older persons, 
even when in health. If the grate is faulty, let a stove be in- 



112 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

troduced into the chamber, and an open vessel filled with 
water kept constantly on the stove, that a due amount of 
vapor may be maintained in the atmosphere. The tempera- 
ture of the room should range from 6o° to 70 Fahr., ac- 
cording to the condition of the patient. 

After the selection of a room in the residence that is 
most susceptible of being made to comply with the above 
conditions, it should be thoroughly cleansed, made inviting 
and cheerful by brightening the ceiling, and the distribution 
of a few pictures about the walls, and supplied with those 
articles of furniture that are necessary only to the welfare of 
the patient and the convenience of the attendants. These 
should consist of a bed, a table, a few chairs, and a wash- 
stand with drawers; book-case and books, sofa and lounge, 
are only to be tolerated in the sick room. The bed should 
consist of a child's crib, with rockers, furnished with a mat- 
tress — never with a feather-bed — a pillow, sheets and blank- 
ets. The portable furniture should consist of a ewer, con- 
stantly filled with soft water, a basin, a slop-bowl, a supply 
of towels, clean rags, soap, and a bathing sponge. On the 
table there should be a pitcher of water for the administer- 
ing of medicine, several tumblers — not goblets — table, des- 
sert, and teaspoons, a bowl of sugar, writing paper, pen and 
ink — and the medicines to be used should also find place on 
the table. If the family should be in the country, or re- 
mote from a drug-store, there should be conveniently at 
hand a camphor bottle, filled, with the gum dissolved in alco- 
hol instead of whiskey, a vial of laudanum, paregoric, cas- 
tor oil, sweet oil, syrup of ipecac, a box of mustard, and a 
small quantity of good whiskey. 

After the chamber has been thus selected, prepared- 



THE INFANT IN SICKNESS. 113 

and furnished, let the infant be undressed and reclothed with 
a clean, dry napkin, a flannel gown, extending six inches 
below the feet, with sleeves, and a single button at the throat, 
and a like garment made of muslin will complete the dress- 
ing. The infant is now ready for the physician. Instead of 
this systematic course of preparation, it occasionally occurs 
that the family, in a sudden manner, concludes that "it is 
best that the doctor should see the baby," and precipitately 
sends a messenger "for the doctor," who, upon his arrival, 
finds the family and servants busily engaged in making hur- 
ried preparations for his reception, and the infant bundled, 
buttoned, and pinned up in half a dozen skirts, in a manner 
to make it almost impossible to get at the chest or the ab- 
domen with a view of making an exploration of the parts, 
and, in place of hearing a quiet and concise history of 
the case, he must, with the patience of Job, listen to 
many apologies for the house being so much out of order, 
and for the baby being so untidy. And if the physician 
should chance to be a man of little experience in practice, 
and in meeting with such precipitate calls, he will become so 
confused as to know neither how or where to commence his 
investigations. 

The foregoing preparations for the sick may be con- 
sidered as altogether superfluous, and the infant is suf- 
fered to pass from health into the midst of a fever of several 
weeks duration, whereas, if the family should be expecting 
an entertainment of only a few hours, there will be several 
days spent in making preparations. But the infant must pass 
through its sufferings without the slightest preparation what- 
ever having been made for its illness, and, perhaps, for the 
lack of which, it may perish. Very much, indeed, will de- 



114 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

pend upon the orderly manner in which we enter upon the 
management and treatment of a case of sickness, that every- 
thing may move along smoothly and well-timed, otherwise 
everything will be done roughly out of time and place. 
There will be many things in the room occupying space that 
ought to be given to pure and wholesome atmosphere 
for the benefit of the patient, and many kindly visiting 
neighbors polluting the air with the effluvia from their 
lungs and bodies, and, still worse, with their many ignorant 
and incongruous suggestions as to the management and 
treatment of the case, by which the nurse is diverted from 
her immediate duties, and is led to disregard her instructions, 
and the physician is so annoyed that it is impossible for him 
to follow up his train of reflections in the analysis of the his- 
tory and symptoms of the case, that he may arrive at a cor- 
rect diagnosis; and rather he will be caused to omit the due 
consideration of one or more symptoms, as the conditions of 
the fontanel,* the pupils, the rythm of the respiratory move- 
ments, the pulse, the temperature, the mode of attack, and 
many other circumstances that are of equal importance. Or, 
in case the infant should be seized with a spasm, and 
an assistant is directed to obtain the mustard, a plate and a 
knife, for the preparation of a plaster to be applied for the 
relief of the sufferer, she will go stumbling over chairs or 
other articles that crowd the room, or be hindered by visit- 
ing friends w T ho have just come in to see the baby, and she 
goes down stairs to the pantry, and finally, when she returns, 
it is discovered that another trip is necessary, as the assistant 
had forgotten one of the articles, or, in her haste, had 
brought the salt cellar instead of the mustard. 

*The space between the bones of the cranium. 



THE INFANT IN SICKNESS. IIS 

When the physician arrives, he should be met by the 
mother, who will give him a full history of the case — i. <?., 
who is sick, the age of the patient, when it was taken sick, 
the mode of attack, the condition of its health previous to 
its sickening, and its condition since; and what, if any- 
thing, in the way of domestic practice or by the advice of a 
physician, had been done for the sufferer. In imparting 
this information to the physician, the mother should never 
exaggerate in any particular, as, " He was so hot, I thought 
he would surely burn up;" but state precisely what she had 
discovered to be the case. Neither should she give the 
physician her diagnosis of the case, for two reasons: First \ 
she, without a medical education, is not competent to make 
a diagnosis; second, it is necessary for the physician to ar- 
rive at his diagnosis through a process of induction, that he 
may not only know what the disease is, but also its 
nature and extent; and he must arrive at a knowledge of 
these conditions through an analysis of the history, the 
symptoms, and indications of all the circumstances which 
surround his patient. After the interview with the mother, 
he is to be conducted to the sick chamber, where he should 
find his patient in the crib, and a fortunate circumstance, 
indeed, if asleep. There should be none other in the chamber 
but the mother or nurse. The approach of the physician 
should be easy and gentle, that the infant may lie undis- 
turbed while the physician carefully notes the position of his 
patient; the condition of the fontanel if natural or other- 
wise; the features, if expressive of pain; the skin, if moist- 
ened with perspiration — if so, is it general, or confined to 
the forehead; the lips, if pale, or red, or dry; the eyes, if 
closed or partly open; the hands, if closed, and the thumb 
embraced within the fingers; the respiratory movements, 



Il6 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

regular or irregular, prolonged and deep, or short, shallow, 
and rapid in succession, thoracic or abdominal; the passage 
of the air into the lungs, if attended with any unnatural 
sounds; the abdomen, if distended or flaccid; the pulse 
must be counted, and the character of the pulsation well 
noted, and now the temperature may be taken with the 
thermometer. The physician may now resort to the third 
source of knowledge of the condition of his patient, viz. : a 
physical examination of the body. For this purpose, he will 
have the mother to take the infant on a pillow in her lap, and 
proceed to percuss and auscultate the chest, with the view 
of ascertaining the condition of the lungs, the bronchial 
tubes, the pleura, and of the heart and its action; he will, 
with his hand, explore the abdomen for the detection of 
hardness, enlargement of any of the viscera, or the exist- 
ence or non-existence of pain. Now, let it be borne in 
mind, that these symptoms may belong to several different 
diseases; for instance, fever is associated with inflammation 
of the brain, lungs, bronchial tubes, and bowels; and the 
physician is to arrive at his diagnosis through a process of 
reasoning from the data he has obtained from the methods 
of inquiry just described, and is then to establish a course of 
treatment most consistent with the nature of the case. It will 
be observed that our patient has been examined, the diagnosis 
made, and the treatment determined upon without a single 
word being spoken in the room. All the necessary conversa- 
tion transpired before the physician entered the chamber. 
Now contrast the foregoing scene with the following: 

"John, go to Mrs. A.'s and tell her the baby is sick, 
and to come over; and then go to Mrs. B.'s; tell them to 
come very soon, for I am expecting the doctor every 
minute." 



THE INFANT IN SICKNESS. 117 

Those ladies make due haste, that they may anticipate 
the arrival of the physician with their inquiries concerning 
the disease, and the remedies already given, with their 
suggestions to be made to the doctor, who now arrives to 
find the chamber in the condition as already described, with 
the neighbors present — the mother trotting the bundled-up 
baby on her knee, to quiet its excitement from the presence 
and noise of so many strangers. Under these circum- 
stances, the physician can do no more than feel the pulse, 
the forehead, and possibly the abdomen; and no sooner 
does he commence this very imperfect examination, than one 
of the ladies will say : 

i i Doctor, has it much fever ? " 

"No, madam, not much." 

Another : 

11 Doctor, is the pulse very high ? " 

"Tolerably so, madam." 

"Well, doctor, don't you think the baby has pneu- 
monia ? " 

" Well, madam, I cannot say, just now, that I do." 

"Well, I thought from its breathing that it had; and 
as our baby has had pneumonia, I was going to tell you 
what I did for mine." 

And the mother will become more interested in the con- 
versation between the neighbors and the doctor, than she is 
in his making a careful examination of the child ; and, for 
a very good reason, she thinks her friends are spurring the 
doctor up to his duty, and making valuable suggestions that 
otherwise would escape his attention. This may be consid- 
ered as an overdrawn picture, but the author can assure the 
reader that it is as true to instances of almost daily occur* 



Il8 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

rence, as a photograph taken by the most expert artist can 
be of the best subject that he ever had to sit before his in- 
strument. And thus humanity is daily trifled with — even to 
the destruction of life itself. The author would respectfully 
say to the mother of the sick infant : Let your neighbors 
stay at home; and to the neighbors; Keep away from the 
sick infant, and pursue the following course : 

August 20 tk, 1879. 
My Dear Mrs. B : I was much pained to learn this morn- 
ing that your baby is so sick as to require the attention of your phy- 
sician, and sincerely hope it will soon recover ; but, in the meantime, 
my services and anything that I have which will contribute to the 
comfort of your darling infant is at your disposal. 

Your sympathizing friend, 

Grace Thomas. 

No direct answer to this note is required. Circumstan- 
ces may, however, cause the following to be necessary : 

August 23d, 1879. 
Mrs. Thomas — Dear Madam : I am sorry to say that the baby 
is no better ; and we are very much exhausted from fatigue and loss 
of sleep. I hope it will not be asking too much for your assistance 
through the night. 

Your friend, 

B . 

Mrs. B : I will be at your service at 8 P. M. 

Grace Thomas. 

Let all the visitors to the house of the sick be received 
in any room other than that occupied by the patient — if it is 
the kitclien. Company have no business in the sick-room ; it 
is a nuisance \ a hindrance, and a torment to the patient. 



THE INFANT IN SICKNESS. 119 

The physician having now made his diagnosis, and de- 
termined upon the plan of treatment, it becomes the duty of 
the nurse to carry out the directions precisely as ordered. 
That this end may be attained, the physician must give the 
instructions in a manner that is clear, concise, comprehen- 
sive, complete in all of the details, and with such a degree of 
precision as will leave nothing to the option of the nurse, 
thus : You will place the blister immediately over the left 
nipple ; after the lapse of one hour and a half, you will ex- 
amine it every twenty minutes until you discover little watery 
pimples, then remove the plaster, and with a little warm 
soap-suds and a soft sponge wash all the ointment that may 
remain, completely off, and dress the blister with a muslin 
cloth and sweet oil. Give one of the powders every three 
hours, until the bowels shall have moved the fourth time ; 
and a teaspoonful of the contents of the vial every time the 
clock strikes, unless the infant is asleep. You will continue 
this until my return, to-morrow morning at 9 o'clock. 

The nurse should now be attentive to the administering 
of the medicines, and all other conditions essential to the 
well-being of the patient, and note well each phase of the 
case and things that may occur. When the physician re- 
turns, he should be met and receive a full account of all that 
transpired during his absence, after which he must be con- 
ducted to the chamber, be seated, and make the same ob- 
servations as before; and let it be again observed, that it is a 
matter of no small moment that he should be let alone in his 
observations and examinations, therefore, let silence prevail. 
Do not disturb him by asking questions, or conversing in the 
room. Such indiscretions have been the cause of the death 
of many infants. The physician will again give his direc- 



120 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

tions to the nurse, and let all the foregoing precautions be 
rigidly observed throughout the entire course of treatment 
By these means, the termination will, most likely, be in a 
happy restoration ; but, if an overruling providence, for some 
good purpose, should take the infant to the land of departed 
spirits, both the parents and physician will feel satisfied that 
they have cooperated in directing their efforts in a manner 
most favorable to bring about a cure. Hence, they will not 
have to reflect upon themselves for not having fully dis- 
charged their duty. 

Medicines are administered to infants either in powder, 
syrup, elixir, or solution in water. If the powder is small in 
quantity, the tip of the finger may be moistened and then 
pressed upon the powder, which is thus transferred to the 
child's tongue, and then give the patient a little water or the 
breast. Fluids are given by drops, or a teaspoonful is more 
convenient, as it saves the trouble of counting the number 
of drops to be given at each dosing. Medicines are usually 
directed to be administered at regular intervals, and the 
nurse should closely observe the time, that the medicine may 
be given precisely at the appointed hour. Medicines are 
also administered by injections under the skin and in the 
bowel. 

Having considered the circumstances demanded by our 
infant when sick, and the way in which it should be man- 
aged through the period of its illness, we will now return to 
its personal consideration. 

Infantile life is susceptible of being divided into two 
periods. The first is from birth to the end of the first year, 
or at the usual time of weaning; and the second is from 
weaning until the eruption of the temporary teeth, which is 



THE INFANT IN SICKNESS. 121 

complete at the end of the second year. The two periods 
may be designated as the first and second year of infancy. It 
is not time alone that marks these periods, but also the stages 
of development peculiar to the first and second year of 
human existence. In the first the tissues are thinner and 
softer, and the vital functions are performed in a more feeble 
manner than in the second year. For these reasons the 
infant in his first months will more readily succumb under 
disease, and when laboring under high inflammatory action 
will not endure depleting treatment so well as when farther 
advanced in life. This enfeebled power of resistance and 
of endurance is compensated for by an exemption from 
disease found in the freedom of the organism from an 
accumulation of effete matter, which clogs the wheels of the 
machine. It is, as we have already seen, the existence or 
the retention of accumulated effete matter in the system 
that is the cause of many diseases, especially those which 
are characterized by an eruption of the skin, as in measles 
and scarlet fever. The freedom of the infant, in its first 
months, from such matter remaining in the blood and tissues 
is due to two circumstances : first, the simplicity of its food 
as compared with the complexity and variety of that which 
is given to the infant when taken from the breast ; second, 
the older one can exercise itself freely by walking, running 
and playing, which causes a greater wear of the muscles and 
other tissues of the body, and hence a greater amount of 
effete matter must pass through the blood, whereas the exer- 
cise of the younger infant is confined to the movement of 
its carriage, to being carried in its nurse's arms, and to the 
movements of its extremities while lying upon its back; 
therefore there is far less effete matter to pass through its 
blood to be eliminated. 6 



122 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

Attention has already been called to the importance of 
thoroughly cleansing the eyes of the newly-born, and that 
this should be accomplished without the use of soap, lest it 
should get into the eyes, and result in inflammation. This 
inflammation, should it occur, may be relieved by bathing 
with warm water or milk fresh from the breast. If, however, 
relief should not be immediately obtained, the mother should 
not delay in procuring medical advice, for by neglect the 
lids will swell, close, and will keep the eyeballs hot, the in- 
flammation will spread with great rapidity, pus will be 
formed in large quantities, and destruction of the tissues en- 
sue by ulceration, and a loss of vision as the dire result. 

Daily attention should be given to the infant's mouth,, 
as the sucking process, combined with the presence of an 
accumulation of acrid matter in the mouth, will cause the 
thin and delicate tissues to inflame and ulcerate, and this will 
excite a like condition of the nipple. As a precautionary 
measure against such evils let the mother constantly have at 
hand a vial of liquor calcis saccharatus. She will put one tea- 
spoonful of the liquor into a tumbler (goblets should never be 
used in the sick room) filled with soft water,* and, with a soft 
mop, cleanse the mouth of the infant, as well as her nipples,, 
morning and evening. 

The natural passage for the air to the lungs is through 
the nostrils, and, we have seen in Part III, the infant is 
not sufficiently developed to be conscious of its necessities 
and must, therefore, depend upon its instinctive desires and 
reflex action of the nervous system for the maintenance of 
the vital forces in their operative functions. Strict attention 

*The mixture must be freshly prepared upon each occasion. 



THE INFANT IN SICKNESS. 1 23 

must be paid to this passage that it may not become ob- 
structed, either by the accumulation of mucus or swelling 
of the mucous membrane from a "bad cold" or coryza. If 
such an obstruction should occur, the infant will not open 
its mouth that the air may find a passage to the lungs, nor is 
it practical to force the mouth open, as the infant will draw 
the tongue backward in such manner as to close the larynx. 
Mucus may be removed with the head of a pin and its 
accumulation prevented by keeping the nostril well oiled by 
the introduction of lard into the passages ; the heat of the 
part will cause the lard to become sufficiently thin to flow 
through the passage. When a stoppage of the passage occurs 
from inflammatory swelling of the membranes, a most ex- 
cellent remedy is to mix five parts of sub-carbonate of bis- 
muth with one part of powdered gum arabic and let it be 
used as a snuff, or put it in a quill or a small glass tube, or 
a straw, and introduce it into the nostril and blow the powder 
over the diseased parts. The author has never found this 
remedy fail in producing a cure, even in the severest 
cases. The following is so forcibly illustrative of the import- 
ance of keeping the nares open that the author feels he 
would be remiss in the discharge of his duty to the reader 
not to give it a place here : 

*'A few years since I* attended a lady in North Tenth street, in 
this city, who gave birth to a healthy, though small and delicate, 
child. It did well for some days, and then became affected with the 
slight coryza so common among infants, on account of which it was 
kept warm, and the monthly nurse applied the usual remedy of 
greasing the nostrils at bed time. The mucous secretion of the 
coryza gradually collected about the apertures and formed lampers, or 

Dr. C. D. Meigs, of Philadelphia. 



124 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

plugs, which filled up the entire nostrils as completely as if they had 
been filled up with a vial cork. The parents found the child apparently 
dying, and members of the family, from different parts of the city, 
were assembled to witness the decease of their young relative. 

" Being notified by an urgent message of the dangerous condition 
of the infant, I hastened to the house, and, finding the friends 
solemnized by the approaching event, I also was at first convinced 
that the child was about to perish. 

"It breathed after very long intervals, during which there was no 
apparent attempt to respire, and I noticed, that when it did make its 
aspirations, they were very sudden, rapid, and violent, after which it 
relapsed into its non-respiring condition. 

" I did not understand the nature of the case, but I remarked 
that it could not be spasmatic nor pseudo-morphous laryngitis, nor, 
indeed, any laryngeal affection, because, when it did respire, it did so 
with full freedom and perfection, which could not be predicated of 
any affection of the larynx, of the bronchi, or the lungs, 

"In the doubt in which I was placed, I took the child on its pil- 
low upon my knee, in order to inspect it more closely, an inspection 
which left me no room to doubt that the obstruction was in the nares, 
and upon a closer examination, I found that the nares were entirely 
stopped up, as I before remarked. By means of the head of a pin, I 
removed the plug from the external nostril, but I could not free the 
deeper parts of the passages. 

"Seeing that the child was about to die (and I have at this 
moment no doubt that it was, but for the rescue, within half an hour 
of its death), I lifted it in my hands, and, applying my mouth to the 
nostrils, and blowing violently into the openings, I loosened, and dis- 
charged the plugs into its pharynx, after which it was in a few min- 
utes perfectly well, and I had no further trouble with it. 

"I saw," says this doctor, '<a little child perish in North Sixth 
street, a few years ago, from this cause. He had great aspirations at 
long intervals ; the nostrils were entirely closed, not by mucus, but by 
sub-mucus infiltration, bringing the sides into contact, and closing 
the passage. As long as I could sit before him, preventing his tongue 
from touching his soft palate, and keeping his lips from closing, so as 



THE INFANT IN SICKNESS. 1 25 

to admit air into his larynx, the child was perfectly well ; but, as it 
was impossible, on account of his resistance and struggles, to sit before 
him with a spoon on his tongue for many consecutive hours, it was neces- 
sary to abandon him to his fate, and he perished a few hours after I 
left him, persisting to breath through an impractical passage in his 
nostrils. 

"I saw a fine child, nearly two years old, perish, in January, 
1845, from nearly a similar cause. 

" Perhaps the reader," continues Dr. Meigs, " perhaps some spec- 
tator, might doubt the propriety of the explanation of the cause of 
the death in these cases. I recommend such cavillers to repeat the 
attempt of persisting to breathe through the nostrils closed by the 
finger and thumb, after which all doubts must vanish from the mind.'* 

During the first year, it is designed for the infant to ob- 
tain its nourishment from its mother's breast, and that by suck- 
ing, for which purpose we find that the mouth of the child is 
peculiarly adapted, by its shallowness, shortness of the jaws, 
delicacy of the muscles, and the absence of teeth. These 
conditions enable the infant to bring its mouth into a position 
best adapted to drawing or sucking in its food. But as it 
advances in life, the operations of nature prepare it for the 
circumstances and conditions which are then to surround it. 
Therefore, we observe the lower jaw grow longer, and from 
a horizontal to an oblique downward direction, which gives 
length to the chin and space for the thickening gums and 
coming teeth. The face grows broader, and the cavity of 
the mouth larger for the reception and mastication of the 
food. The muscles become stronger and thicker, that the 
teeth may be applied with sufficient force to crush and masti- 
cate the food, preparatory for the digestive processes. The 
most obvious and interesting change which takes place in the 
mouth is the appearance of the teeth. As we have already 
considered the history of teeth development, and the best 



126 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

way of managing the infant to prepare it for a safe passage 
through the process, it now remains to consider teething in 
relation to the general health, and its management during 
dentition. 

Notwithstanding the eruption of the teeth is a physio- 
logical process, yet it is occasionally attended with such dis- 
turbances as to receive the appellation of difficult dentition, 
which sometimes results in death. Such cases are attended 
with slight febrile movements, which manifest themselves 
in an accelerated pulse and redness of the cheeks and gums, 
and the irritable character of the fever is shown by the in- 
creased flow of saliva, more frequent intestinal discharges of a 
thin consistency, containing mucus and bile, attended with 
nausea and vomiting. When these symptoms begin to 
present themselves, the advice of the family physician should 
be obtained without delay. The flow of saliva and the in- 
creased discharges of the bowels are means by which nature 
endeavors to relieve herself of the disturbed state of the 
system, and if astringent medicines are administered, with 
a view of arresting the discharges, very grave results will 
ensue. Also, the healing up of those sores which are fre- 
quently found behind the ears of teething infants. These 
should be let alone, for by these means the infant is saved 
from that degree of irritation which would result in convul- 
sions, paralysis and inflammation of the brain, and death. 

There are two remedies that can be applied locally, 
which, in many cases, give such marked relief as to act like 
magic : First, is to rub the gum with a crystal of bromide 
potassium, which is a very simple method, and can be re- 
sorted to by the mother ; the second is to lance, or incise 
freely, the gum. It is not an uncommon occurrence to meet 



THE INFANT IN SICKNESS. 1 27 

with mothers whose sympathies become so much aroused as 
to protest against the performance of this simple operation ; 
but if they had a correct appreciation of the beneficial re- 
sults which accrue to the infant from so efficient, though so 
simple an operation, their sympathies would move them to 
have the operation performed, when necessary, without 
delay. The author will not detain the reader with a recital 
of some of the many instances of marked, and even sur- 
prising, results that followed the free use of the knife, in his 
own experience ; but will cite the following case from Dr. 
Condie, who says : 

"A curious case is related by Robert, in his treatise on the Prin- 
cipal Objects of Medicine, illustrative as well of one of the effects of 
difficult dentition, as of the division of the gums. We give it upon 
the authority of Carault, not having seen the work of Robert : 'A 
child, after having suffered greatly from difficult dentition, apparently 
died, and was laid out for interment. Lemonnier, having some busi- 
ness at the house of the nurse with whom the child resided, after ful- 
filling the object of his visit, was desirous of ascertaining the condi- 
tion of the alveola. He accordingly made a free incision through the 
gums. On preparing to pursue further his examination, he perceived 
the child to open its eyes, and give other indications of life. He im- 
mediately called for assistance. The shroud was removed from the 
body, and by careful and persevering attention, the child's life was 
saved. The teeth in due time made their appearance, and its health 
was fully restored. ' " 

From the writer's own experience in the results obtained 
from this simple and harmless operation, as well as from a 
knowledge of the effects upon the nervous system of the 
pressure of the teeth against the gum, he has no doubt that 
the above reported rescue from a pending death is literally 
true. The author would cite the case of a near relative, 



128 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

who lay at the point of death for six weeks, attended by 
several physicians, and was considered as hopeless. Finally, 
it was decided to freely incise the gums. Within an hour's 
time the patient was in her usual health, engaged with her 
toys, and required no further treatment. 

We have seen from time to time the importance of the 
infant being constantly supplied with a pure and whole- 
some atmosphere ; and when, in dentition (which continues 
through the whole of the second year), we consider that the 
heart is still active in the performance of its function 
the free circulation of the blood ; of the ascendancy of the 
nervous system over the organism, and the rapidity with 
which the developing processes are going on, under the ex- 
citing influences of almost every object, and stranger, with 
which the infant may come in contact; and the mind, 
which is now so far developed as to endeavor to compre- 
hend the use of objects and the meaning of sounds — under 
this excitement the will begins to determine the movements 
of the body, when it is amusing and interesting to see the 
little creature with its tottering steps, arms extended, eyes and 
mouth agape, and quivering head, making strenuous efforts 
to arrive at an object but a few inches distant. Cannot we 
see in this state of the infant the utmost importance of an 
atmosphere free from all impurities, that the blood and tissues 
may be duly oxidized ? Let us for a moment witness the 
effects of transferring the healthy infant into a room that is 
badly ventilated, and perhaps a smoky chimney, with sev- 
eral grown persons still further poisoning the air with the 
effluvia from their bodies, and suffocating the infant by 
crowding around it — and that, too, more for their own cu- 
riosity than for any good they may do for the infant. Un- 



THE INFANT IN SICKNESS. 1 29 

der these circumstances, we will witness a scene quite differ- 
ent from the one just described, and in which the infant 
loses its energies, becomes pale, languid, and lifeless. As 
pure air and free ventilation are so essential to the healthy in- 
fant, how much more so must it be when the vital forces- 
are weakened by disease. Therefore, too much care cannot 
be observed in securing to the teething infant a volume of 
pure air, freely and constantly circulating about the person. 
The illness of the infant will be recognized by the 
semiology or signs of disease. Some diseases are ushered 
in, in such manner as to leave no doubt that the infant is 
sick. It may be seized with a convulsion, a chill and fever, 
or with a fever accompanied by great prostration. Again, 
disease may be so insidious in its approach as to escape 
attention until it explodes in such violence as will imperil 
the life of the infant. A remarkable case of this kind came 
under the observation of the author in the case of a most 
interesting child of three years of age. The writer was at 
the time living in the country. He was, on a Saturday 
afternoon, a mile distant from his home when he found a 
gentleman friend sitting in his yard, under a shade tree, 
with the child playing upon the green — the only young child 
in a family of grown sons and daughters, consequently a pet. 
Here the author stopped to enjoy a social chat, when the 
child came playing around, seeking to be noticed by 
him, who seated the child upon his lap and, by accident, 
placed one hand upon the back and the other upon the 
chest. There was a slight abnormity in the rythm of the 
chest movements, which caused the ear to be placed to 
the chest, whereupon the lungs were detected to be in 
the first stage of inflammation, or pneumonia. As the 



I30 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

father had asked to be excused until he could finish a 
short paragraph in a paper which he had in his hand, this 
short examination escaped his attention. Just at the con- 
clusion of the reading another mutual friend entered and 
engaged us both in an interesting conversation of an hour's 
duration, which caused the condition of the child to escape 
the memory of the observer, who went to his home without 
mentioning [the danger of the child to the father. On the 
next morning, Sunday, at 10 o'clock, a messenger came in 
great haste to summon the author to see the child, whom he 
reported to be in a dying condition. It is needless to say 
that the author felt conscience-stricken for neglecting to in- 
form the father of the condition of a child upon whom was 
centered so much affection by a large and devoted family. 
Upon arriving at the bedside of the patient he was found to 
be prostrate, speechless, pale, with purple spots here and 
there, threatened with convulsions and immediate death. In 
these trying hours consolation was found in the application 
of remedies which caused the threatening dangers gradually 
to pass away, with a restoration of the child to a state of per- 
fect health. From this we may learn the importance of not 
treating too lightly slight indications of disease which often 
appear in the young. 



COLIC. 131 



COLIC. 



This is, of all other complaints, the one with which the 
infant is most frequently afflicted, and occasions the mother 
many anxious hours and wakeful nights. Colic implies vio- 
lent pains in the abdomen, the word being derived from the 
Greek, Kolikos, from Kolon, the colon or large intestine ; it, 
therefore, conveys no definite idea of the cause of the suf- 
fering. And as pains are excited in the bowels of the infant 
by a number of causes which vary widely from each other, 
and the means of obtaining relief are equally varied ; it is, 
therefore, an unfortunate circumstance, that all pains which 
occur in the abdomen are grouped under the one name, 
Colic The infant is thus subjected to repeated dosings 
of medicines and nostrums, and the vague question, "what 
is good for the colic?" is often asked the physician, who 
prescribing without seeing the patient and learning the cause 
of the pain, his remedy fails in producing relief, and dis- 
credit is thereby brought upon himself and the profession. 



I32 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

Of the several varieties of colic to which the infant is sub- 
ject, we may mention : 

A. — Neuralgia, or nervous colic. 

B. — Spasmodic colic. 

C. — Bilious colic. 

D. — Flatulent, or windy colic. 

E. — Inflammatory colic. 

A. — Neuralgia, or nervous colic, is recognized by the 
regularity of its attack, which occurs most generally in the 
afternoon, and, in many instances, at precisely the same 
hour of the day. This form of colic is not necessarily ac- 
companied with derangements of the digestive organs, and 
the bowels may naturally and regularly perform their daily 
functions. 

As this is characterized by a periodicity, quinine may 
be administered in small doses three times a day with ad- 
vantage. The moment the infant is seized with the pains, 
let the little sufferer be laid upon a blanket spread over the 
nurse's lap, with its hips well exposed to a hot fire, and ad- 
minister a powder composed of the sixth of a grain of 
Dover's powder and one third of a grain of ipecac. In a 
surprisingly short time it will fall into a profound sleep,, 
accompanied with a profuse perspiration. It is now to be 
laid in its cradle to sleep, freed from its suffering. This 
treatment is to be promptly repeated upon each occurence 
of the attack, and the fire, the blanket, and the powder 
must be at hand that no delay be made in giving the suffer- 
ing infant immediate relief. By this course of treatment en- 
tire freedom from the attacks will be obtained. The author 
has known instances in which the daily attacks would occur 
for sixty consecutive days. 



COLIC. 133 

B. — Spasmodic, sometimes called incidental, colic. This 
form of the complaint is the result of temporary indigestion, 
of some unwholesome article of diet, of constipation, or of 
some cause that is not clearly definable. 

This should be met with palliatives — opiates, hot baths, 
and mustard plasters to the abdomen. Fluid ext. of wild 
yam, administered in doses of three drops every two hours, 
is an effective remedy. After the patient has been relieved, 
as a precautionary measure, the bowels should be evacuated 
by a cathartic — calomel or podophylin. The latter should 
be given in doses of an eighth or sixth of a grain and re- 
peated twice daily until the bowels are well purged. 

C. — Bilious Colic results from an accumulation of bile 
and mucus in the stomach, accompanied with a coated 
tongue, and, frequently, fever. 

A light emetic is the best means of relief. This should 
be accomplished with syrup of ipecac. The vomiting will, 
at once, relieve the suffering, and should be followed by a 
purgative, lest another attack should occur. 

D. — Flatulency, or wind colic is the result of indigestion, 
and we have, in the preceding pages, endeavored to show 
the great importance of feeding the infant in accordance 
with the demands of nature. And the radical means of re- 
lieving the patient must be sought in correcting any irregu- 
larities in feeding the infant, or, in discovering the diet that 
is operating to his detriment. 

Immediate relief is to be obtained through palliatives : — 

Simple Syrup - - - ^v ^ 
Paregoric gi (■ Mix. 

Sulphuric Ether - - ^ii ) 



134 THE HEALTHY INFANT. 

Dose. — From one-fourth to one teaspoonful, according 
to the age of the infant, to be repeated every three hours 
until relief is obtained. Such treatment must then be es- 
tablished as will give tone and strength to the organs. 

E. — Inflammatory colic is accompanied with inflamma- 
tion of the bowels. The inflammation may be the result of 
exposure, of a foreign substance within the intestine, of inter- 
susception, i. e. the bowel folding in upon itself. The in- 
flammation must be treated in an appropriate manner. 

Finally, the colic may be due to the existence of two 
or more of the above causes, when the treatment will be- 
come more complicated, and may, with propriety, be termed 
a compound treatment, when much care must be exercised 
in the administration of medicine, that one remedy may not 
conflict with another, and thereby result in great harm. 



FINIS. 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Ablution of the Newly-born, 68 

Advice to Neighbors, 118 

Agalaxy, 94 

Alarm, 3 2 -33 

Alvine Discharges of the Foetus, 47 

Ancestry, Necessity of Learning the History of, . 7 

Animal Construction of the Organization, . . -15 

Associations of the Pregnant Female, .... 40 

Ativism, 31 

Auricular Septum, 66 

Autopsy, 52 

Bad Colds, 123 

Bee-sting, Case of, 34 

Birth, 59 

Blood, Female Pabulum of Note — 23 

Male Pabulum of, ..... . . 24 

Circulation of, ....... 66 

Letting, Note — 44 

Breasts, Of the 73 

Milk, Substitute for, 102 

Breeding Back, . 31 

Bromide Potass a, 126 

Cell, 13 

Carrot Pap, 102 

Cheese, 74 

City Children, 9 

Circumstances in which the Highest Order of Minds Most Fre- 
quently Appear, .18 

Child-bearing, 2 7~49 

Circulation of Air, 65 



2 INDEX. 

Page. 

Circulation of the Blood, 66 

Chamber for the Sick, . .• no 

Temperature of, in 

Clothing, 106 

Cold, Effects of, ' . in 

Colic, Varieties and Treatment, 131 

colostration, 7 1 

Colostrum, 7°-73 

confectionaries, 55 

Concentrated Milk, 102 

Coryza, or Catarrh . . . . . . . . 123 

Country Children, 9 

Cradle, 77 

Crib, 77 

Deformities, Congenital, 33 

Degeneracy, Causes of, Note — 8 

Dentition, Difficult, 126 

Periods of, ........ 86 

Stages of, 86 

Disease, Signs of, 129 

Diseases, Hereditary, 15 

Disposition, 16 

Doctor's Directions, How Given, . . . . . 119 

Dress, 48 

Fashion in, ........ 51 

For the Sick Infant, . 113 

Dynamic Condition of Matter, 31 

Force, . . 31-33 

Early Marrying, 27 

Education, Effects of, 25 

Eruption, Time of Teeth, 86 

Eve, . 5 

Evils, Source of, . . Note — 8 

In Improper Dressing, ...... -49 

Evil, Apprehension of, 32 

Examination of the Sick Infant, 115 



INDEX. 3 

Page. 

Fyes, Necessity of Cleansing, 122 

Fashion, 51-107 

Fatigue, 55 

Fear, Effects of, ' . 32 

Female Cultivation, 21 

Education, 25 

Duties, 21 

Flour, Boiled, 103 

Fcetus in Utero, 28 

Food, for the Pregnant Female, 42 

Food, for the Infant, 72 

Food, Improper, ......... 98 

-Genius, Cause of Not Descending from Father to Son, . 18 

Men of, 17 

Galactagogue, 95 

Generative Organs, 73 

Grecian-bend, Walking, 52 

Gums, Cutting of, 126 

Gum-tubes, 101 

Handling the Infant, Care in, 82 

Heart, 66-81 

Hearing, Sense of, 66 

Health, Laws of, 8 

Hereditary Diseases, Transmission of, ... 16 

Hereditary Traits, 7 

Highly-gifted in the Opposite Sex is not a Factor in the Pro- 
duction of Superior Minds, ...... 19 

Hypochondriac, 35 

Hypophosphates, 86 

Infant Powder, 68 

Influence, of the Mother upon the Offspring, ... 14 

Infantile Life, How Divided, 120 

Inhalation, 64 

Inorganic Matter, 14 

Impure Air, Effects of, 128 



4 INDEX. 

Page, 

Institutions of Learning, Mixed, 26 

Kiestine, 73 

Lacing, 52 

Landau, Siege of, 34 

Law and Order, , 10 

Laws of Sex, 22 

Licentiousness, 9 

Libeig's Soup, 102 

Life, Division of, ........ 120 

Married People, 9 

Marrying Early, 27 

Marks, Mother's, 40 

Male, Cultivation of 26 

Male, Duties of, ..... .... 21 

Maternal Influence Upon the Offspring, . . . . 14 

Masculine Women, 22 

Material Conditions of Matter, 31 

Mammary Abscess, 75-94 

Medicines, How Administered, 120 

Milk, White, 74 

Yellow, , 71 

Mental Exercises of the Pregnant Female, . . . -41 

Mixed Schools, 26 

Mothers, Changes in During Uterine Gestation, ... 72 

of Great Men, ....... 20 

Mouth of the Infant, 122 

Changes in, ....... 125 

Mucus, Discharge of, 

Muscles, 81 

Nero, 7 

Newly-born, Management of, 58 

How Treated by the Romans, Spartans, etc., 58-59 

Neighbors, Advice to, 118 

Nipples, Contracted, 93 

Noise, in 



INDEX. 5 

Page. 

Nurse, Wet, 103 

Nursing the Infant, 69 

Posture, 69 

Nourishment, . . .125 

Nostrils, Closing of, 123 

Organical Construction, 15 

Organism, Changes in, 36-38 

Organic Law, 7 

Matter, Distinctive Feature of, . . . . 13 

Pap, Carrot, ■ 102 

Parents, Duties of, 6-7 

Parental Character, Transmission of, .... 7 

Parent Cell, 13 

Passion, Effects of, on the Milk, 105 

Paternal Influence upon the Offspring, .... 7 

Part I, 5 

Part II, 28 

Part III, 58 

Part IV, 80 

Part V, . . . no 

Physician, 115 

Physical Exercises of the Pregnant Female, ... 41 

Phosphates, 74 

Primordial Cell, 13 

Preparation of Food, Care in, 97-100 

Post Mortem, Results of, ....... 66 

Quietude, in 

Salivary Glands, 98 

Sex, Distinctions of, ....... 22 

Necessity of Complying with the Laws of, . . 22 

What is, 21-22-23-24 

Schools, Mixed, 26 

Seige of Landau, 34 

Sensitiveness, Note, 38 

Sleep, 76 



6 INDEX. 

Page. 

Smelling, Sense of, 64 

Spermatozoa, 14 

Spirit or Soul, 15 

Stays, 50 

Streets, Corners of, 83 

Sugar, 74 

Refinery, 46 

Taste, Sense of, 64 

Teething, 84 

Temperature, 61-111 

Teething, Stages of, 86 

Touch, Sense of, 61 

Urine of the Foetus, 47 

Valve, Foramen Ovale, 66 

Ventilation, 65 

Vernix Caseosa, 60 

Visitors, How to Receive, 118 

Walking, 52-84 

Waste Matter in the System, 45 

Water, 90 

Watch, Illustration by, 11 

Weaning, 108 

Wet Nurse, . 99-104 



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gether with the Anatomy of the Horse's Foot and its Diseases. By 
J. R. Cole. With Forty-two Illustrations. 8vo. Cloth, $1 00 

" This book is sold for less than the price of a single set of shoes, 
and we can warrant that every farmer or horse-owner who is not 
already well informed in everything relating to the care of the horse's 
foot, will find himself well repaid in the investment." — New England 
Farmer, 

tl The importance of the subject demands the thorough discussion 
that is given it in this volume. By means of numerous illustrations 
and plain language, the author makes all the intricacies of the horse's 
foot clear to the average reader, and enables him to know what is the 
matter with the foot, when the horse goes lame after shoeing. It 
shows what few blacksmiths know — how to shoe a horse properly. 
This information alone is worth the cost of the book to every horse- 
owner. ' ' — Indiana Farmer, 



Publications of Peter G. Thomson^ Cincinnati, 



CINCINNATI SOCIETY BLUE BOOK, AND FAMILY DIREC- 
TORY, Containing the names of householders, giving their private 
residences, and exact numbers, together with the names of the adult 
members of each family, the ladies' reception days, etc., etc. With a 
complete classification by streets and suburbs. i2mo. Cloth, elegant, 
gilt edges. (By Subscription only.) $5 00 

LOTOS LAND, and other Poems. By G. S. Ladson. i6mo. Cloth, 
* Gilt. Iioo, 

THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE. Ruled and arranged to suit any num- 
ber of volumes. 4to. Cloth, - - - - $1 50 

A great convenience, in fact, a necessity, to every one who owns 
a library, whether large or small. The book is made of heavy paper, 
neatly and strongly bound in cloth, with red edges. The following 
are the printed headings : Title, Shelf or Number, Author, Volumes, 
Size, Where Published, Date of Publication, Where Bought, Cost, 
When Bought. 

WASHINGTON COUNTY AND THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF 
OHIO. By Israel Ward Andrews, President of Marietta College. 
8vo. Paper, 75 cts. Cloth, ^1 25 

An epitome of the events connected with the early settlement of 
Washington County, the first county settled in Ohio, and incidentally 
of the early History of the State. 

MARIETTA COLLEGE in the War of Secession, 1861-65. 8v0 - 
Paper, # . . . . 75 cts. 

Contains a history of Marietta College in the War, by President 
I. W. Andrews, together with biographical sketches of the students 
who fell in service, and a complete Military Record of the Alumni. 

REFERENCES to the Coinage Legislation of the United States. By 
Col. C. W. Moulton. 8vo. Paper. - 30 cts. 

THE BOOK -BUYER'S GUIDE. A classified catalogue of 170 pages. 
Sent free to any address. 



PETER Or. THOMSON, 

ARCADE BOOKSTORE, 

CINCINNATI. 



Library Agency 

FOR THE 

ECOMOMICAL PURCHASE OF BOOHS. 



The undersigned makes it a special and important part of his business 
to attend to orders for Public Institutions and Individuals who desire to 
have accurate information and suggestions as to the best books and the 
best editions, and to purchase what they need, whether in thousands, or a 
single book, in the most economical way. 

Orders for American or Foreign Books of every description, whether 
for whole libraries or single books, are carefully and promptly executed, 
on the most favorable terms for correspondents. Books, etc., for incorpor- 
ated institutions, are imported free of duties. Catalogues of the English 
Antiquarian Booksellers are received regularly, and will be forwarded to 
any address. 



REFERENCES. 



State Historical Society of Wisconsin. 

The punctuality and intelligence 
evinced by Peter G. Thomson in filling 
the orders, both American and Foreign, 
for this Library, deserve our recognition 
and commendation. 

LYMAN C. DRAPER, Secretary. 
DAN ! L S. DURRIE, Librarian. 

Mercantile Library of Baltimore. 

The Cincinnati Public Library is to be 
congratulated in securing you as its agent. 
I cannot recall anyone who could fill the 
position with so much credit as yourself. 
* * My business transactions with you 
have been of the most satisfactory char- 
acter. * * What Librarians and Book 
Committees want, (after plentiful income) 
is a discreet agent — not a mere picker-up 
— but one who has knowledge of books 
and uses that knowledge for the benefit 
of his principal. I think you completely 
fill this want. 

JNO. W. M. LEE, 
Librarian Mercantile Library and Mary- 
land Hist. Society. 



Cincinnati Pnblie Library. 

American and English books purchased 
for the Public Library of Cincinnati, are 
now ordered through Peter G. Thomson, 
who has contracted for supplying them on 
more favorable terms than the Library 
has ever been able to obtain from any 
American Bookseller or Importer. 

THOMAS VICKERS, Librarian. 

Chicago Public Library. 

I have no doubt but that your long ex- 
perience in the book business, and your 
relations with your London correspondent 
will enable you to serve your customers 
more satisfactorily than the general book 
trade can do it. I am also convinced that 
it is better for libraries and private buyers 
to use such an agency as yours, rather 
than import through the regular American 
booksellers. Wishing you much success 
in your business. I remain. 

Yours very sincerely, 

WILLIAM F. POOLE. 



All Communications Promptly Answered. 

PETER G. THOMSON. 

Bookseller, Stationer and Importer, 
#gcade Bookstore, 179 Vine $t. CINCINNATI. 




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[r'BRARY OF CONGRESS 

,0 022 216 377 8 




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